An Exploration of Factors Influencing Cost Inefficiency in Swedish Electricity Distribution using Stochastic Frontier Analysis

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magnus Söderberg
2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 669-696
Author(s):  
Pavan Khetrapal

PurposeThe objective of the present study is to evaluate and analyse the performance of Indian electricity distribution utilities post the implementation of landmark Electricity Act 2003.Design/methodology/approachStochastic frontier analysis (SFA) that incorporates exogenous influences on operational efficiency is adopted in the present study. Specifically, a stochastic frontier production function model with a technical inefficiency effects model (Battese and Coelli, 1995) is chosen as a preferred model. In this model, the function that explains the inefficiency scores is estimated in a single stage with the production technology. This avoids the problem of inconsistency which is possible in the two-stage approach.FindingsThe sample involved 52 Indian electricity distribution utilities for seven-year period from 2006 to 2013. Major findings of SFA show that Indian electricity distribution utilities post the implementation of Electricity Act (2003) had, on average, experienced efficiency improvement during the observed period. The overall mean technical effciency score is estimated as 78.5% which indicates that there exist wide scope for effciency improvement in the sector. Further, the empirical findings also indicate that publicly owned distribution utilities obtain average technical efficiencies of 71.3%, which is lower than privately owned distribution utilities, which achieve average technical efficiencies of 85.7%.Research limitations/implicationsPower supply quality indicators such as SAIFI, SAIDI, CAIFI, etc. and unobserved heterogeneity also influence the efficiency analysis of electricity distribution utilities. Hence, these parameters as explanatory variables can be incorporated in the future work.Practical implicationsThe results obtained from this empirical study would likely be helpful for utility managers and policymakers to know how well they are performing, and how a better corporate strategy a particular utility can formulate to improve its operational efficiency and also its position in the marketplace.Originality/valueThis paper is amongst the first significant attempts that implement SFA approach to the panel dataset over a longer period of time – 2006 to 2013, so, as to evaluate and analyse the operational efficiency of Indian electricity distribution utilities in a single framework after the enactment of Electricity Act (2003). Unlike previous studies, this study investigates the degree to which various exogenous (or environmental) factors influence efficiency levels in these utilities.


2010 ◽  
Vol 2010 ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcus Vinicius Pereira de Souza ◽  
Madiagne Diallo ◽  
Reinaldo Castro Souza ◽  
Tara Keshar Nanda Baidya

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficiency indices for 60 Brazilian electricity distribution utilities. These scores are obtained by DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) and Bayesian Stochastic Frontier Analysis models, two techniques that can reduce the information asymmetry and improve the regulator's skill to compare the performance of the utilities, a fundamental aspect in incentive regulation schemes. In addition, this paper also addresses the problem of identifying outliers and influential observations in deterministic nonparametric DEA models.


2017 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
pp. 454-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Rosko ◽  
Herbert S. Wong ◽  
Ryan Mutter

We compared performance, operating characteristics, and market environments of low- and high-efficiency hospitals in the 37 states that supplied inpatient data to the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project from 2006 to 2010. Hospital cost-inefficiency estimates using stochastic frontier analysis were generated. Hospitals were then grouped into the 100 most- and 100 least-efficient hospitals for subsequent analysis. Compared with the least efficient hospitals, high-efficiency hospitals tended to have lower average costs, higher labor productivity, and higher profit margins. The most efficient hospitals tended to be nonteaching, investor-owned, and members of multihospital systems. Hospitals in the high-efficiency group were located in areas with lower health maintenance organization penetration and less competition, and they had a higher share of Medicaid and Medicare admissions. Results of the analysis suggest there are opportunities for public policies to support improved efficiency in the hospital sector.


Author(s):  
Michael D. Rosko ◽  
Jose Proenca ◽  
Jacqueline S. Zinn ◽  
Gloria J. Bazzoli

The primary objective of this study is to assess whether systematic differences in inefficiency are associated with hospital membership in different types of systems. We employed the Battese/Coelli simultaneous stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) technique to estimate hospital cost inefficiency. Mean estimated inefficiency was 8.42%. Membership in different types of systems was related to estimated cost inefficiency (p < .05). Compared to hospitals that were members of centralized health systems, membership in centralized physician/insurance or decentralized systems was associated with decreased inefficiency; membership in independent systems was associated with increased inefficiency.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-198
Author(s):  
Pradyut Guha ◽  
Tiken Das

The present study makes an attempt to analyse farm level cost inefficiency of maize farming and its determinants in different agro-climatic regions of Sikkim. The primary data for the study were collected during the third and fourth quarter of 2018 from different agro-climatic regions of Sikkim. Both data envelopment and stochastic frontier analysis were used for measurement of the farm level inefficiency across different agro-climatic regions of the study area. Based on the Cobb–Douglas cost function for maize output, the article simultaneously estimated stochastic frontier cost function and examined the effect of exogenous factors on farm level cost inefficiency. The results of this study showed that, on an average, the farmer incurred cost which was 8 per cent to 72 per cent above the minimum cost defined by the best practice frontier. Further, cost inefficiency was relatively higher among the farmers in temperate agro-climatic region. Greater cost inefficiency seems to be directly associated with remoteness of farmland from input market. The study also found that the additional years of farming experience and farming in the rented plots were useful in reducing cost inefficiency.


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