Kalyan Chakraborty

Cotton Farmers' Technical Efficiency: Stochastic and Nonstochastic Production Function Approaches

Technical efficiency for cotton growers is examined using both stochastic (SFA) and nonstochastic (DEA) production function approaches. The empirical application uses farm-level data from four counties in west Texas. While efficiency scores for the individual farms differed between SFA and DEA, the mean efficiency scores are invariant of the method of estimation under the assumption of constant returns to scale. On average, irrigated farms are 80% and nonirrigated farms are 70% efficient. Findings show that in Texas, the irrigated farms, on average, could reduce their expenditures on other inputs by 10%, and the nonirrigated farms could reduce their expenditures on machinery and labor by 12% and 13%, respectively, while producing the same level of output.

Efficiency and Equity in Funding for Government Schools in Australia

This study measures cost inefficiency for government school in New South Wales, Australia using a two-stage data envelopment analysis (TSDEA) model and the inefficiency-effects model (Battese & Coelli, 1995). The study found overall primary schools are 75 per cent and secondary schools are 89 per cent cost efficient. However, cost efficiency for primary schools has decreased and for secondary schools has increased marginally over the study period. The study found that social disadvantage in primary schools exerts a strong negative impact on students’ achievement scores causing inefficient use of available resources. For secondary schools no such conclusive relationship is observed.

Efficiency and Productivity of Indian Life Insurance Industry

Abstract This paper investigates technical efficiency and productivity growth in Indian life insurance industry in the era of deregulation. The empirical study uses DEA method and Malmquist productivity index to measure and decompose technical efficiency and productivity growth, respectively. The results suggest that the growth in overall productivity is mainly attributed to improvement in efficiency. Higher pure technical efficiency and lower scale efficiency indicate the insurance firms have generally, moved away from the optimal scale over the study period. The truncated regression exploring the main drivers of efficiency in the long run found claims ratio, distribution ratio, and firm-size influence technical efficiency positively. The study also found firms that had both life and non-life businesses are more efficient than firms that has only life insurance business.

1. ASSESSING ECONOMIC IMPACT OF A REGIONAL UNIVERSITY

The financial contribution of a University on the local and state economy is often overlooked. These financial contributions are measured through impact analysis of university expenditures on regional economic sectors. We examined the economic impact of Emporia State University (Kansas) expenditures on the local and state economy. We used multipliers that are generated by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) in October 2012 based on U.S. National input-output model. The University’s direct expenditures create indirect and induced effects on output, earnings, and employment for local and regional economic sectors. During the financial year 2012 the University and its ancillary units spent

Valuing the impacts of forest fires on backcountry forest recreation.

336 million directly into the state economy that generated

Economies of scale in public education: an econometric analysis

418 million output,

Efficiency in Public Education - The role of socio-economic variables

131 million income, and 4,430 jobs in Kansas. The University’s overall output and earnings multipliers are 1.24 and 0.39, respectively. In other words, for every dollar of expenditure by the university and its ancillary units creates

Efficiency and Equity in School Funding: A Case Study for Kansas

1.24 of output and

Scale Economies in Public Education

0.39 of household income. The University’s employment multiplier is 2.88 implying every job University creates there are 2.88 additional jobs created in Kansas.