The Influence of Dense Planting System on the Technical Efficiency of Saffron Production and Land Use Sustainability: Empirical Evidence from Gonabad County, Iran

The cultivation of saffron, which is one of the most expensive agricultural products in the world, is the main source of livelihood and economic wellbeing for the rural communities of Gonabad county in the eastern part of Iran. Nevertheless, farm monitoring in the region has shown that many saffron growers apply a high-density planting system for more profit. This practice results in the loss of land productivity after a six-year production cycle. As a consequence, farmers abandon the cultivated lands and move to plant saffron in available virgin lands. The purpose of this study is to analyse the technical efficiency of saffron farms and its determinants with an emphasis on the role of planting density. A survey was conducted in 2019, and a cross-sectional random sampling technique was used to select 110 saffron growers. We first assessed the technical efficiency of farms using a data envelopment analysis (DEA) model with input orientation. In the next step, efficiency scores were regressed on explanatory variables using OLS and bootstrapped truncated regression to identify efficiency related factors. We find that planting density negatively influenced technical efficiency, suggesting that it is necessary for saffron growers to be educated on the negative impacts of the dense planting system.

Evaluation of Efficiency and Its Determinants in Croatian Hotel Industry

The main objective of this research was to evaluate the efficiency of Croatian hotels and provide insights into the sources of their efficiency. In order to obtain set goals, a two-stage analysis was performed on a sample of 69 large and medium-size hotels that were operating in Croatia in 2019. In the first stage of analysis, the efficiency scores of hotels were obtained by using Data envelopment analysis (DEA), whereas in the second stage of analysis, achieved efficiency coefficients were served as dependent variable in a truncated regression model in which hotel’s ownership, age, location, size and star rating were applied as independent variables. As this is the first time that efficiency of Croatian hotel industry is investigated with the application of truncated regression analysis, this research contributes to the existing literature by shading new lights on the sources of hotels’ efficiency from the perspective of a country heavily relaying on seasonal seaside tourism. Results of the research showed that all analysed variables (except age) play significant and important role in determining the achieved level of efficiency.

Technical efficiency evaluation of colorectal cancer care for older patients in Dutch hospitals

Background Preoperative colorectal cancer care pathways for older patients show considerable practice variation between Dutch hospitals due to differences in interpretation and implementation of guideline-based recommendations. This study aims to report this practice variation in preoperative care between Dutch hospitals in terms of technical efficiency and identifying associated factors. Methods Data on preoperative involvement of geriatricians, physical therapists and dieticians and the clinicians’ judgement on prehabilitation implementation were collected using quality indicators and questionnaires among colorectal cancer surgeons and specialized nurses. These data were combined with registry-based data on postoperative outcomes obtained from the Dutch Surgical Colorectal Audit for patients aged ≥75 years. A two-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach was used to calculate bias-corrected DEA technical efficiency scores, reflecting the extent to which a hospital invests in multidisciplinary preoperative care (input) in relation to postoperative outcomes (output). In the second stage, hospital care characteristics were used in a bootstrap truncated regression to explain variations in measured efficiency scores. Results Data of 25 Dutch hospitals were analyzed. There was relevant practice variation in bias-corrected technical efficiency scores (ranging from 0.416 to 0.968) regarding preoperative colorectal cancer surgery. The average efficiency score of hospitals was significantly different from the efficient frontier (p = <0.001). After case-mix correction, higher technical efficiency was associated with larger practice size (p = <0.001), surgery performed in a general hospital versus a university hospital (p = <0.001) and implementation of prehabilitation (p = <0.001). Conclusion This study showed considerable variation in technical efficiency of preoperative colorectal cancer care for older patients as provided by Dutch hospitals. In addition to higher technical efficiency in high-volume hospitals and general hospitals, offering a care pathway that includes prehabilitation was positively related to technical efficiency of hospitals offering colorectal cancer care.

Systematic Review: Penilaian Efisiensi Rumah Sakit dengan Metode Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)

Dalam sistem kesehatan yang berkembang saat ini, efisiensi merupakan hal yang utama. Pengukuran efisiensi bermanfaat untuk pemerintah maupun swasta untuk dapat mengambil keputusan yang berhubungan dengan tinggi rendahnya biaya perawatan di rumah sakit. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji metode Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) yang digunakan dalam berbagai penelitian dalam pengukuran efisiensi rumah sakit. Desain penelitian yang digunakan adalah dengan sistematic review dengan metode PRISMA tanpa meta analisis. Sumber data didapatkan dari Proquest, Sciencedirect dan Pubmed pada tahun 2019 hingga 2020. Pencarian data dilakukan pada bulan Oktober 2020 dengan kata kunci Hospital Efficiency dan Data Envelopment Analysis. Hasilnya adalah penilaian efisiensi rumah sakit menggunakan metode DEA lebih banyak dilakukan dengan analisa dua tahap menggunakan tobit regression atau truncated regression. Perhitungan index malmquist juga banyak digunakan setelah perhitungan DEA dilakukan untuk melihat efisiensi rumah sakit dalam periode waktu tertentu.

Primerjava različnih regresijskih modelov za napovedovanje debelinskega priraščanja jelke

We present seven alternative statistical models for modelling tree diameter increment with data from permanent sampling plots. In addition to the polynomial regression model, we present a regression model with added random noise, a mixed linear model, regression with natural splines, and three models with limited dependent variables: truncated regression, tobit regression and grouped data regression. The models may be used when dealing with truncated or censored variables, biased estimation of the increment due to censoring and rounding down, or when having multilevel data. The parametrization of the models was done using 21,013 fir trees on 4,405 plots in the period 1990–2014 in uneven-aged Dinaric fir-beech forests. All models showed a similar effect of tree diameter, stand basal area, basal area of larger trees, diameter structure diversity, altitude and slope. There were only minor differences in the regression coefficients and fit measures. The highest increment predictions were given by the tobit model. The mixed model fit the data best and, compared to the other models, predicted a slower decrease in the growth of large-diameter trees after growth culmination.

How do transaction costs, capabilities and networks influence the procurement strategies of small agri-food firms? Evidence from the wine industry

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to disentangle the drivers of adoption of procurement strategies in situations where small agri-food firms deal with constrained organizational choices. More specifically, the authors investigate the role of transaction costs, capabilities and networks in the definition of feasible “make-or-buy” choices in emerging wine regions.Design/methodology/approachThis article analyzes a unique dataset of small wineries from five US states: Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, New York and Vermont. The reported results derive from both a hurdle model (i.e. a probit model and a truncated regression model) and a tobit model.FindingsThe results suggest the importance of trust as a replacement for formal governance structures whenever small firms deal with highly constrained sets of organizational choices. On the other hand, the level of dependence on a limited mix of winegrape varieties and the perception that these varieties are fundamental in building legitimacy help to explain higher rates of vertical integration.Originality/valueThis study is important because it sheds light on organizational constraints that affect millions of farmers across the globe. The study of “make-or-buy” decisions in agri-food supply chains has mostly relied on the implicit assumption that all organizational choices are available to every firm. Nevertheless, limited capabilities and the participation in low-density networks may constrain the ability of a firm to adopt a governance mechanism. Stated organizational preferences and actual organizational choices may thus differ.

ESTIMASI MODEL REGRESI SEMIPARAMETRIK SPLINE TRUNCATED MENGGUNAKAN METODE MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD ESTIMATION (MLE)

Regression modeling with a semiparametric approach is a combination of two approaches, namely the parametric regression approach and the nonparametric regression approach. The semiparametric regression model can be used if the response variable has a known relationship pattern with one or more of the predictor variables used, but with the other predictor variables the relationship pattern cannot be known with certainty. The purpose of this research is to examine the estimation form of the semiparametric spline truncated regression model. Suppose that random error is assumed to be independent, identical, and normally distributed with zero mean and variance , then using this assumption, we can estimate the semiparametric spline truncated regression model using the Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) method. Based on the results, the estimation results of the semiparametric spline truncated regression model were obtained p=(inv(M'M)) M'y

The Efficiency Score of Small Accommodation Businesses in Non-Coastal Rural Areas in Greece

Small accommodation businesses dominate the rural hospitality industry, producing simple or complex tourist products and services in order to be sustainable and competitive. In this paper, a two-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) model was applied in a representative sample of 151 small accommodation businesses in non-coastal areas in the region of Central Macedonia in Greece. In the first stage, DEA-bootstrapping is applied to estimate point and interval efficiency ratios of accommodation businesses and identify the benchmark accommodations. The double bootstrapping truncated procedure of Simar and Wilson is implemented in the second stage to investigate the role of five business factors in terms of efficiency. The findings suggest that small accommodation businesses, although they are based in areas where tourist resources abound, are inefficient. Moreover, the results of the truncated regression method showed that the business’s size, the operating days, and the variety of activities (simple/complex) affect business’s inefficiency. On the contrary, the business’s age and their engagement in agriculture or not do not affect business’s efficiency. The results are important for rural entrepreneurs and policy makers, and they will also be useful for the adaptation of businesses to increase their efficiency.

Constructing Sports Promotion Models for an Accessibility and Efficiency Analysis of City Governments

This study provides a systematic analysis of sports promotion efficiency in 22 administrative districts in Taiwan from 2011 to 2018. We first considered sports behavior and sports information promotion and connected the multiple intermediate products using network DEA, used the public performance and outputs to measure the total efficiency of sports promotion in the 22 administrative districts, and then established the final input–output indicators. The long-term tracking of sports promotion efficiency shows that, while Taipei and Taoyuan experienced upward trends, the other 20 administrative districts saw declining trends. We also used truncated regression to identify 14 environmental variables that affected the efficiency of sports promotion in the 22 administrative districts from 2016 to 2018, with the results showing that funding, satisfaction with life, and average BMI in each administrative district were significant factors, revealing the latest trends in and measurements of governance in terms of government accessibility.

Efficiency in Vietnamese Banking: A Meta-Regression Analysis Approach

This study explains the differences and variances in the efficiency scores of the Vietnamese banking sector retrieved from 27 studies published in refereed academic journals under the framework of meta-regression analysis. These scores are mainly based on frontier efficiency measurements, which essentially are Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) for Vietnamese banks over the period of 2007–2019. The meta-regression is estimated by using truncated regression to obtain bias-corrected scores. Our findings suggest that only the year of publication is positively correlated with efficiency, whilst the opposite is true for the data type, and sample size.