The Impact of Urbanization on Farmland Productivity: Implications for China’s Requisition–Compensation Balance of Farmland Policy

The rapid growth of China’s economy since the reform in 1978 should be largely attributed to urbanization. Nonetheless, in terms of farmland productivity, urbanization may lead to perverse incentives and thus threaten food security. On the one hand, the requisition–compensation balance of farmland (RCBF) policy could reduce farmland productivity because of a “superior occupation and inferior compensation”; on the other hand, urbanization promotes the transfer of the younger labor force and thus reduces the productivity of the agricultural labor force. To investigate the undesirable effects, based on some stylized facts, this study selects 29,415 county-level samples in a Chinese county from 2000–2014 to construct an empirical model. With a new stochastic frontier analysis method that eliminates the classical econometric issues of endogeneity and heterogeneity, the empirical results show that there is a U-shaped relationship between the farmland use efficiency (productivity) and urbanization rate, indicating that only when the urbanization rate is relatively low would urbanization decrease the farmland use efficiency; in contrast, when the urbanization rate is relatively high, technical progress would obviously be accompanied by urbanization, and thus, the undesirable effects are fully offset. Furthermore, the U-shaped relationship is robust after considering the endogeneity of the urbanization rate and total-factor farmland use efficiency. With these findings, recommendations to implement sustainable management and conservation policies regarding farmland resources are made.

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International R&D Spillovers and Innovation Efficiency

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su10113974 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. 3974 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Jianping Liu ◽

Kai Lu ◽

Shixiong Cheng

Keyword(s):

Capital Stock ◽

Stochastic Frontier Analysis ◽

Stochastic Frontier ◽

Sensitivity Analyses ◽

Frontier Analysis ◽

Country Level ◽

Scientific Papers ◽

Catch Up ◽

The Right ◽

The Impact

The objective of this study is to examine the impact of international research and development (R&D) spillovers on innovation efficiency of specific R&D outcomes, employing the country-level panel data for 44 countries in the 1996–2013 period. Fully considering the heterogeneity of different R&D outputs, scientific papers, PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) patents, US patents, and domestic patents are observed separately, which enriches the angles of measuring international R&D spillovers. By applying a stochastic frontier analysis to knowledge production function, we find that foreign R&D capital stock positively contributes to the innovation efficiency of scientific papers, but suppresses the productivity of domestic patents, whereas it does not really matter for PCT or US patents. These results are robust to control for a set of institutional factors and also in sensitivity analyses. Hence, dependence on international R&D spillovers seems neither to be the right way for emerging economies to catch up, nor to be a sustainable model for developing countries to fill the technical gap. Local R&D capital stock, instead, keeps an essential contributor to all four R&D outputs, so raising internal R&D expenditure is actually the key to improving innovation level and sustainable development ability.

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Intellectual capital: a determinant of firms' operational efficiency

South Asian Journal of Business Studies ◽

10.1108/sajbs-11-2019-0207 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Kanishka Gupta ◽

T.V. Raman

Keyword(s):

Intellectual Capital ◽

Stochastic Frontier Analysis ◽

Stock Exchange ◽

Stochastic Frontier ◽

Value Added ◽

Financial Sector ◽

Operational Efficiency ◽

Content Type ◽

Frontier Analysis ◽

The Impact

PurposeIntellectual capital (IC) has been recognized in improving the efficiency of businesses and gaining competitive edge in the developed world. The present study offers perspectives into the effect of IC on the efficiency of the Indian financial sector companies.Design/methodology/approachFor the purpose of evaluating efficiency, the research has used stochastic frontier analysis (SFA). All Indian financial sector companies listed in National Stock Exchange (NSE-500) for the timeframe of ten years (2008–2018) have been considered. The paper has employed modified Pulic's Value Added Intellectual Coefficient (VAICTM) as a proxy to measure IC. Correlation and panel data regression have been used in order to examine the relationship.FindingsThe results of the study indicate positive and significant relationship between IC and efficiency of the firm. The results also show that all the components of IC, that is, human capital, relational capital, process capital and capital employed have a significant impact on firms' efficiency. Additionally, it has been seen that sample companies do not invest in research and development leading to no innovation capital.Practical implicationsThe research will assist managers in managing and controlling the IC, investors in matters related to investment and financial experts in improving the company's IC and value creation.Originality/valueThe current research is one of the pioneering studies in the context of Indian financial sector that examines the impact of modified VAIC on operational efficiency calculated using SFA.

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Using stochastic frontier analysis to measure the impact of weather on the efficiency of electricity distribution businesses in developing economies

European Journal of Operational Research ◽

10.1016/j.ejor.2017.05.054 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 263 (3) ◽

pp. 1078-1094 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Karim L. Anaya ◽

Michael G. Pollitt

Keyword(s):

Stochastic Frontier Analysis ◽

Developing Economies ◽

Stochastic Frontier ◽

Electricity Distribution ◽

Frontier Analysis ◽

The Impact

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The Impact of Foreign Ownership in Czech Football

Studia sportiva ◽

10.5817/sts2021-1-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 63-70

Author(s):

Selçuk Özaydın

Keyword(s):

Stochastic Frontier Analysis ◽

Stochastic Frontier ◽

Foreign Ownership ◽

Competitive Balance ◽

Main Interest ◽

Foreign Investors ◽

Frontier Analysis ◽

Football Team ◽

European Football ◽

The Impact

Foreign ownership in European football has been rapidly increasing especially in the last two decades. Although the main interest for the foreign investors are the teams of Big 5 leagues, there are some occasional surprises. One of the surprises is the oldest football team in Czech football, SK Slavia Prague. This study investigates the impact of Slavia’s takeover on Czech First Division. First a stochastic frontier analysis is conducted and efficiency scores are estimated. The results indicate that Slavia’s athletic efficiency has improved significantly after the takeover. The transfer activity in the league increased greatly thanks to Slavia’s additional funds allocated to transfers and also it should be noted that Slavia’s domestic transfers have created an opportunity for the other teams to improve their finances. Finally, the overall competitive balance in the league improved after the takeover despite Slavia’s dominance in the league after the takeover.

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Estimation of technical efficiency of Czech farms operating in less favoured areas

Agricultural Economics (Zemědělská ekonomika) ◽

10.17221/52/2019-agricecon ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 65 (No. 10) ◽

pp. 445-453

Author(s):

Tamara Rudinskaya ◽

Tomas Hlavsa ◽

Martin Hruska

Keyword(s):

Technical Efficiency ◽

Stochastic Frontier Analysis ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Stochastic Frontier ◽

Agricultural Area ◽

Farm Size ◽

Identification System ◽

Accounting Data ◽

Frontier Analysis ◽

The Impact

This paper deals with the technical efficiency analysis of farms in the Czech Republic. The empirical analysis provides an evaluation of technical efficiency with regard to the farm size, farm specialisation, and farm location. Accounting data of Czech farms from the Albertina database for the years 2011–2015 were used for the analysis. The data were classified by the utilised agricultural area and location of the farm expressed as a less favoured area type from the Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS) database. Research was conducted using the translogarithmic production function and Stochastic Frontier Analysis. The results indicate positive impact of farm size, expressed by utilised agricultural area, on technical efficiency. The analysis of the impact of farm specialisation on technical efficiency verified that farms specialised on animal production are more efficient. The lowest technical efficiency is shown by farms situated in mountainous Less Favoured Areas (LFAs), the highest technical efficiency by farms located in non-LFA regions.

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Benchmarking the economic and environmental performance of water utilities: a comparison of frontier techniques

Benchmarking An International Journal ◽

10.1108/bij-08-2021-0481 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Maria Molinos-Senante ◽

Alexandros Maziotis ◽

Ramon Sala-Garrido

Keyword(s):

Stochastic Frontier Analysis ◽

Methodological Approach ◽

Stochastic Frontier ◽

Assessment Method ◽

Water Utilities ◽

Content Type ◽

Frontier Analysis ◽

Efficiency Assessment ◽

Lower Variability ◽

The Impact

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to estimate and compare the efficiency of several water utilities using three frontier techniques. Moreover, this study estimates the impact of several qualities of service variables on water utilities’ performance.Design/methodology/approachThe paper utilizes three frontier techniques such as data envelopment analysis (DEA), stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) and stochastic non-parametric envelopment of data (StoNED) to estimate efficiency scores.FindingsEfficiency scores for each methodological approach were different being on average, 0.745, 0.857 and 0.933 for SFA, DEA and StoNED methods, respectively. Moreover, it was evidenced that water leakage had a statistically significant impact on water utilities’ costs.Research limitations/implicationsThe choice of an adequate and robust method for benchmarking the efficiency of water utilities is very relevant for water regulators because it affects decision making process such as water tariffs and design incentives to improve the performance and quality of service of water utilities.Originality/valueThis paper evaluates and compares the performance of a sample of water utilities using three different frontier methods. It has been revealed that the choice of the efficiency assessment method matters. Unlike SFA and DEA, a lower variability was shown in the efficiency scores obtained from the StoNED method.

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Aging of Agricultural Labor Force and Technical Efficiency in Tea Production: Evidence from Meitan County, China

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11226246 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (22) ◽

pp. 6246 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jian Liu ◽

Chao Zhang ◽

Ruifa Hu ◽

Xiaoke Zhu ◽

Jinyang Cai

Keyword(s):

Labor Force ◽

Technical Efficiency ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Policy Implications ◽

Southwestern China ◽

Agricultural Labor ◽

Mountainous Areas ◽

Frontier Analysis ◽

Tea Production ◽

The Impact

While the aging of agricultural labor force and its impact on agricultural production have been attracting extensive attention, little is known about the relationship between aging of agricultural labor force and technical efficiency in tea production. Using the stochastic frontier analysis and cross-sectional survey data covering 241 tea-producing farmers in Meitan County in China, this study attempts to investigate the impact of aging of tea-producing farmers on technical efficiency in tea production in the mountainous areas of southwestern China. The results show that the average technical efficiency in tea production is 0.581, implying a great room for improving technical efficiency in tea production in Meitan County. While there might exist an inverted U-shaped relationship between farmers’ age and technical efficiency, the aging of tea-producing farmers would exert negative impact on technical efficiency in tea production. In addition, rural–urban migration experience, number of household laborers, distance from home to village committee, and township location are also significantly related with technical efficiency. The findings in this study are proved to be robust. Hence, several policy implications for meeting the challenges from aging of agricultural labor force and improving technical efficiency in tea production in the mountainous areas of southwestern China are also discussed.

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