K. R. Shanmugam

Efficiency of Indian commercial banks during the reform period

This article contributes to the banking efficiency literature by measuring technical efficiency of banks in four different ownership groups in India during the reform period, 1992–1999. It employs the stochastic frontier function methodology for panel data. The results indicate that the efficiency of raising interest margin is time invariant while the efficiencies of raising other outputs-non-interest income, investments and credits are time varying. The state bank group and foreign banks are more efficient than their counterparts. The reform period witnessed a relatively high efficiency for augmenting investments, which is consistent with economic growth objective of the reform measures. However, there are still larger gaps between the actual and potential performances of banks.

Size, age and firm growth in the Indian manufacturing sector

The conventional wisdom on the relationship of firm growth with its size and age is typically based on the studies in developed economies. In contrast, this study analyses the firm growth patterns for an emerging economy, namely India. It uses a balanced panel of 392 manufacturing firms over the years 1989–1990 to 1992–1993 to explore unobserved heterogeneity among firms. Results indicate that age positively influences growth, which is the opposite of the result obtained in previous studies. The current size negatively impacts growth as in earlier studies. Results also indicate that smaller and older firms grow faster than their counterparts. Size effect is larger in food industry while the age effect is larger in non-metal industry.

Valuations of Life and Injury Risks

A research on valuing risks to life and health in thecontext of a developing country is practicallynon-existent. This study provides the first estimatedvalues of life and health, using data from India.These values can aid policy makers, internationalagencies and researchers in evaluating health projectsin developing nations. They can also be used to carryout comparisons with values obtained for developedcountries.

Efficiency analysis of coal-based thermal power generation in India during post-reform era

Coal-based thermal power stations are the leaders in electricity generation in India. This study employs the stochastic frontier production function methodology for panel data to measure the technical efficiency (TE) of coal-based thermal power plants in India during 1994-1995 to 2001-2002. Efficiency varies widely across plants and regions, while the TE is time-invariant. The average TE is approximately 73%, indicating a substantial scope for increasing thermal power generation in the country, with improved application of existing technology and without employment of additional resources. The western region is technically more efficient than other regions and young plants are more efficient than their old counterparts. We hope that the findings will prove useful to development agencies and policy-makers in devising appropriate strategies to improve electricity generation in India.

Rate of time preference and the quantity adjusted value of life in India

The choice of appropriate discount rate for comparing the long-term health benefits of policies is a complex issue. This study contributes to this sparsely researched issue from the perspective of developing countries by estimating the implicit discount rate that workers reveal through their willingness to incur death risks on-the-job and quantity-adjusted value of life of workers using an original data set from the Indian labor market. The estimated real discount rate ranges from 7.6 to 9.7 per cent, which is closer to the financial market rate for the study period and consistent with earlier studies from developed nations. The estimated value of life ranges are Rs. 24.3–26.5 (US

Efficiency of Thermal Power Plants in India

1.34–1.47) million. The results of the study can aid policy makers, international agencies, and researchers in evaluating health projects in India and other developing nations.

Discount Rate for Health Benefits and the Value of Life in India

Thermal power industry plays a leading role in power generation in India. This study employs the stochastic frontier production function methodology to measure the technical efficiency of Indian thermal power plants using latest available panel data. Efficiency varies widely across firms and regions and is timevariant. Mean technical efficiency increased from 79 per cent in 1994-95 to 85 per cent in 1996-97 which indicates that there is scope for raising power production without employing additional resources. The findings can aid policy-makers and international agencies in adopting appropriate strategies to improve power generation in India.

Ownership and Performance of the Indian Banking Industry

This study contributes to the literature by estimating discount rate for environmental health benefits and value of statistical life of workers in India. The discount rate is imputed from wage-risk trade-offs in which workers decide whether to accept a risky job with higher wages. The estimated real discount rate ranges between 2.7 and 3 percent, which is closer to the financial market rate for the study period and consistent with earlier studies from developed nations. The estimated value of life is Rs. 20 (US

HEALTH, TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY, AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION IN INDIAN DISTRICTS.

1.107) million. The results of the study can aid policymakers, international agencies and other researchers in evaluating health projects in India and other developing countries.

Technical Efficiency of Growing Rice Crop in Karnataka: A Panel Data Study

This study contributes to the ownership–performance literature by analysing the issue for the Indian banking sector during the post reform period (1992–2007). Results indicate that both foreign and domestic private banks are superior to their public counterparts with respect to four performance indicators namely, Return on Asset, Operating Profit Ratio, Operating Cost Ratio and Staff Expense Ratio. The one indicator in which the private banks are less efficient than their counterpart is Net Interest Margin. Furthermore, the foreign banks seem to be superior among the private banks, while the State bank group shows better performance among the public banks. The results also highlight a convergence in the performances across various ownership groups over the reform period. The competitiveness due to reform measures seems to help the poor performing banks in reducing the performance gap. Since publicly owned banks still perform poorly, privatisation seems to be an effective policy in improving the performance of Indian banks.