Analysis of technical efficiency can be carried out by several possible approaches, such as a deterministic parametric approach, deterministic non-parametric approach (data envelopment analysis) and stochastic parametric approach. The content of this work is an analysis using stochastic parametric approach and deals with the efficiency computed by the help of production functions. The best known and most commonly used aggregate production function is a Cobb-Douglas production function, which is a modification of the static formulation of a relationship between variables and factors of production. The analysis of efficiency can be explained by using of different factors. In this work, the effectiveness is analyzed by the export value of controlled entities and dependent on GDP and public investment. Technical efficiency is studied comparing twenty-seven European Union economies. The analysis is applied to the universal values of the variables and the values per capita.

The first essay compares six common models, linear, quadratic, Cobb-Douglas, translog, logarithmic, and transcendental, to estimate wheat yield and area functions for Saudi Arabia. Data cover 1990-2016 for all the variables that affect wheat supply. After testing the models using Box-Cox, multicollinearity, and autocorrelation tests, we decide that the Cobb-Douglas models provide the best fit for both yield and area. We find the price elasticity of wheat is inelastic. Yield price elasticities are more inelastic than area elasticities. The impact of government policy number 335 has a larger effect on area than yield. The cultivated area of wheat, the one-year lag of yield, and the number of machines per hectare are the most influential factors affecting wheat yield. The primary factors influencing the area models are a one-year lag of both cultivated area and yield, as well as the number of machines per hectare. The second essay estimates the residual demand elasticity that rice exporters face in Saudi Arabia. The inverse residual demand methods, as proposed by Reed and Saghaian 2004, are used for rice exporters to Saudi Arabia during the period 1993-2014. Estimation results of the elasticities of the residual demand indicate that Australia, India, and Pakistan enjoy market power, while Egypt faces a perfectly elastic demand curve. We find Thailand and the US had positive inverse residual demand which means they also have no market power. The last essay is about the virtual water trade in Saudi Arabia. Using the concept of virtual water introduced by Allan 1994 and developed by Hoekstra and Hung (2002), we estimate virtual water trade for 20 crops of Saudi Arabia during 2000-2016. Our result shows the average virtual water trade was 12.5 billion m3/year. Saudi has net virtual water imports, with the most significant virtual water imports coming from cereals & alfalfa and vegetables; and there is net virtual water export of fruit. Saudi virtual water trade reduces pressure on water resources by 52%. Distance plays a role in Saudi virtual water export; we found that more than 90% of exports go to neighboring countries, including 45% to GCC countries. More than 30% of virtual water imports come from Europe. A Gravity model is used to investigate whether water scarcity variables influence trade. We compare the OLS, Fixed effects, Random effects, and PPML estimators to get the best model. The AIC, and tests for multicollinearity, and heteroskedasticity assist in determining estimation procedures and the final models. We cluster the errors by distance to improve the specific country effect variables such as economic mass variables. For the cereals and alfalfa group, we find that water-related variables influence virtual water imports of cereals, millet, sorghum, corn, barley, and sesame. Therefore, we suggest that a basic gravity model be applied to the other crops. In the vegetable group, we find that related water variables impact virtual water trade for all crops except marrow. Dates are the only fruit crop that are not influenced by the water-related variables.

發展經濟學理論認為，公共投資有助於整體經濟的成長，同時可以帶動產業的發展，亦是支持國家經濟的重要動力，而在面對全球產業生產模式的轉變以及產業結構變遷的階段中，臺灣地區的產業已朝向生產者服務業擴展之趨勢，為增進國家發展與提高國民生活品質之需，增加公共投資是否有助於達到上述目的值得研究。 惟近年來臺灣正面臨經濟成長萎縮與財政緊縮的窘況，公共投資的面向勢必調整於最具有影響性的產業，同時，在有限的財政資源中，應當選取可以獲得最大效益的公共投資種類作為主要投資方向，因此，本研究以臺灣地區23個縣市為實證範圍，並採自民國75-90年工商普查與都市及區域發展統計彙編之資料，以Cobb-Douglas生產函數作為實證迴歸函數，探討公共投資對製造業與生產者服務業的產出影響，並將生產函數分成未限制、規模報酬遞增固定規模報酬等三項生產模式來作為研究之實證模型。針對公共投資部分，將中央與省政府所投資的重大建設計畫再加上各縣市的決算資料予以分配計算，並依其性質分成總體公共資本、經濟性公共資本與社會性公共資本等三項存量變數作為驗證變數。 基於以上的模型設定和變數整理，本研究所得出之結果為： 1.公共投資對於產業發展是具有正向的影響性，這也驗證Rosenstein-Rodan所提出的大力推動理論，政府必須先於產業之發展而予以投資固定資本，促使產業達到提升產值的經濟效益。 2.只有產業在規模報酬遞增的生產模式中，各項公共資本的投入才會對產業產生正向關聯的影響，且其影響彈性以製造業為最。 3.經濟性公共資本與社會性公共資本的比較方面，社會性公共資本對於產業的挹注效果比較大。 4.我國製造業對於公共投資的敏感性較為顯著，當多投施一單位社會性資本的建設時，則會促使製造業的產值最大可增加0.28單位，而生產者服務業最多亦可增加0.26單位。 5.公共投資需要投注在單一產業，以引發整體經濟的成長，近期即應挹注在製造業這項產業上；在公共投資項目，則應專注於社會性的公共資本支出。

This dissertation is attempting to estimate the effects of infrastructure on the economic performance in the sample of European countries. I created two models which try to estimate different impacts of infrastructure on the economy. First of them is based on the Cobb-Douglas production function which estimates the direct effect. Second, is the model based on the Holtz-Eakin and Schwartz approach which measures the spatial spillovereffect.

Ten years have passed since Wal-Mart’s public announcement about its RFID technology adoption plan in 2003. Some large competitors of Wal-Mart in the U.S. retail industry jumped on the trend of RFID technology adoption. However, many U.S. retailers do not consider adopting RFID technology because of the uncertainty of return on investment and the lack of business cases demonstrating its profitability, productivity, or efficiency. This study investigates whether RFID companies have better financial performance ratios in the U.S. retail industry. RFID retailers have significantly higher operating margin, lower days-in-inventory, and lower per-employee costs. Compared with pre-RFID, the RFID retailers did not improve profit ratios after they adopted it, but their days-in-inventory ratio and sales efficiency improved significantly. Compared to small RFID retailers, large RFID retailers show greater inventory management efficiency and sales efficiency. Regression analyses show that inventory management efficiency does impact gross margins, but the impact of cost efficiency is negligible. RFID retailers have a positive relationship with gross margin increases. The regression analyses using the Cobb-Douglas production function show that the RFID retailers have a little higher labor productivity than non-RFID retailers. In summary, the analyses reveals that RFID retailers have a better record of maintaining an efficient inventory management and higher labor productivity, but more research is needed to demonstrate the relationship between cost efficiency and profitability.

<p>This thesis develops a computable, non-linear programming, general equilibrium model of the Canadian textile sector for the purpose of addressing certain trade policy issues.</p> <p>One of the unique features of the model is the specification of the objective function a CES nested in a Cobb-Douglas function. This objective function incorporates the assumption of diminishing marginal utility', an assumption which is almost universally accepted in microeconomic theory but which is conspicuously missing in linear programming models. This objective function also allows for imperfect substitutability between domestically produced textiles and imported textiles.</p> <p>The textile sector is significantly disaggregated to allow for the interconnections among the various textile industries in the sector. In addition, unlike partial equilibrium models which do not consider what happens to other industries outside the sector under study, this model is able to shed same light on the behaviour of these industries.</p> <p>The model is solved by an optimization package called MINOS (a modular in-core nonlinear optimization system) and then used to predict the 1979 variables to set a benchmark for the model. The model predicts most variables reasonably well.</p> <p>The results of the experiments confirm Bhagwati's concept of equivalence as applied to general equilibrium models. The results also show that if protection in textiles is removed, imports will pour in, leading to declines in output and employment in the textile industries. The finding that there is considerable anti-protection in the textile sector agrees with the view expressed by other writers. The results also show that, in general, a textile industry at a later stage of processing tends to expand if it is the only one protected and an industry at an early stage of processing tends to contact if it is the only one protected.</p> <p>Given any quota, its tariff equivalent can be computed using the model. With reference to tariffs and subsidies, the results show that one cannot say categorically that one means of protection is generally preferable to the other, a finding which is consistent with the trade distortions literature.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Considerando as micorregiões do Censo Agropecuário de 1995-1996 e dos Censos Demográficos de 1991 e 2000, este trabalho estima, primeiramente, uma função de produção Cobb-Douglas. Para tal, controla-se o efeito dos preços regionais sobre o valor da produção. São levados em conta fatores tradicionais (mão-de-obra, terra, insumos químicos e capital) e o capital humano (nível de escolaridade formal e conhecimento de mercado). A estimativa foi obtida através do método de mínimos quadrados em três estágios &#150; MQ3E. O método se justifica pelo modelo econômico proposto ser um sistema de equações (estima-se também a demanda por capital e o custo relativo da utilização deste fator) e pela forte presença de heteroscedasticia na estimação em mínimos quadrados ordinários &#150; MQO. Em seguida, estima-se a Produtividade Total dos Fatores &#150; PTF por estado, verificando-se a contribuição relativa do capital humano. / Using data from the Agricultural Census of 1995-96 and the Demographic Censuses of 1991 and 2000, this dissertation first estimate a Cobb-Douglas production function. The value of production is calculated in order to control the effect of regional prices. Traditional factors (labor, land, fertilizers and capital) and human capital (years of schooling and market knowledge) are used as explanatory variables in the production function. The economic model is a simultaneous equations system that considers both decisions to produce and maximize profits. Results of the proposed economic model are obtained by using the three-stage least squares (3-SLS) method due to presence of heteroskedasticity. Afterwards, total productivity factor (TFP) is estimated to each of the Brazilian states and the relative contribution of human capital is analyzed.

The elasticity of factor substitution between capital and labor is a crucial parameter in many economic fields. However, despite extensive research, there is no agreement on its value. Utilizing 738 estimates from 41 studies published between 1961 and 2016, this paper provides the first meta-regression analysis of capital-labor substitution elasticities for the U.S. economy. We show that heterogeneity in reported estimates is driven by the choice of estimation equations, the modeling of technological dynamics, and data characteristics. Based on the underlying meta-regression sample and a "best practice" specification, we estimate a long-run elasticity in the range of 0.6 to 0.7. For all estimated elasticities the hypothesis of a Cobb-Douglas production function is rejected.

This paper reviews the status quo of the empirical and theoretical literature on the determinants of the elasticity of substitution between capital and labor. Our focus is on the two-input constant elasticity of substitution (CES) production function. By example of the U.S., we highlight the distinctive heterogeneity in empirical estimates of σ at both the aggregate and industrial level and discuss potential methodological explanations for this variation. The main part of this survey then focuses on the determinants of σ. We first review several approaches to the microfoundation of production functions, especially the CES production function. Second, we outline the construction of an aggregate elasticity of substitution (AES) in a multi-sectoral framework and investigate its dependence on underlying sectoral elasticities. Third, we discuss the influence of the institutional framework on the determination of σ. The concluding section of this review identifies a number of potential empirical and theoretical avenues for future research. Overall, we demonstrate that the effective elasticity of substitution (EES), which is typically estimated in empirical studies, is generally not an immutable deep parameter but depends on a multitude of technological, non-technological and institutional determinants.

This diploma thesis deals with the stochastic frontier approach -- a tool for the analysis of technical efficiency. First, general outline, basic terms and approaches to efficiency analysis are overviewed. Also the theoretical background of production functions is involved, focused on the Cobb-Douglas production function. Furthermore, the frontier approach and the stochastic frontier approach for cross-sections data is covered. Based on this, stochastic frontier model with time-varying technical efficiency for panel data is introduced with respect to maximum likelihood estimation. The second part offers an application of the model to assess technical efficiency of ice hockey teams in the NHL for the 1997-2013 period. Output of the production is measured by the winning percentage, inputs are salaries of three categories -- goaltender, defenseman and centers/wingers.