本研究發展新的計量方法，運用隨機邊界法將單調性和曲度條件等性質納入迴歸模型，使用聯立迴歸模型進行估計，藉此讓係數估計值不易出現違反經濟理論的情況。 採用台灣2002年至2015年，51家商業銀行進行實證分析，發現本研究方法估計產出方向距離函數時，僅有5%以下的樣本點不符合單調和曲度等性質，用於估計產出面距離函數時，僅有2%以下的樣本點不符合。進一步探討台灣銀行業之非意欲產出--逾期放款--對估計技術效率的影響，顯示不考慮此非意欲產出造成整體銀行業、非金控本國銀行與外商銀行的技術效率被高估，而金控本國銀行的技術效率則被低估，此外，分析2007年金融風暴前後銀行業經營效率變化，顯示考慮非意欲產出銀行業經營效率顯著提升，然而，未考慮非意欲產出銀行業經營效率卻下降，兩者結果有著極大的差異。 / The aim of the paper is to develop a new approach, which is stochastic frontier analysis imposing monotonicity and curvature conditions, then using simultaneous regression model to estimate. By the approach, it can solve the problem of most of the coefficient estimates violating the economic theory. The study uses the data of 51 commercial banks in Taiwan from 2002 to 2015 to conduct the empirical analysis. It indicates that by output directional distance function, less than 5% sample points violate the monotonicity and curvature conditions; by output distance function, less than 2% sample points don’t obey the restricted conditions. Further, the paper discusses the effect of commercial banks’ undesirable output- non-performing loan- on estimating technical efficiency. The results show that ignoring the undesirable output cause the technical efficiency of overall banks, non-finance holding banks and foreign banks are overvalued, and the technical efficiency of finance holding banks are undervalued. Furthermore, analyze the change of business efficiency after financial crisis in 2007. It points out that using the model consider the undesirable output, the banks’ efficiency rises. However, using the model no consider the undesirable output, the banks’ efficiency decreases. There is an extremely conflict between two approach.

This doctoral thesis consists of three essays. In the first essay I investigate the presence of productivity convergence in eight regional pulp and paper industries of U.S. and Canada over the period of 1971-2005. Expectation of productivity convergence in the pulp and paper industries of Canadian provinces and of the states of its southern neighbour is high since they are trading partners with fairly high level of exchanges in both pulp and paper products. Moreover, they share a common production technology that changed very little over the last century. I supplement the North-American regional data with national data for two Nordic countries, Finland and Sweden, which provides a scope to compare the productivity performances of four leading players in global pulp and paper industry. I find evidence in favour of the catch-up hypothesis among the regional pulp and paper industries of U.S. and Canada in my sample. The growth performance is at the advantage of Canadian provinces relative to their U.S. counterparts. However, it is not good enough to surpass the growth rates of this industry in the two Nordic countries. It is well-known that econometric productivity estimation using flexible functional forms often encounter violations of curvature conditions. However, the productivity literature does not provide any guidance on the selection of appropriate functional forms once they satisfy the theoretical regularity conditions. The second chapter of my thesis provides an empirical evidence that imposing local curvature conditions on the flexible functional forms affect total factor productivity (TFP) estimates in addition to the elasticity estimates. Moreover, I use this as a criterion for evaluating the performances of three widely used locally flexible cost functional forms - the translog (TL), the Generalized Leontief (GL), and the Normalized Quadratic (NQ) - in providing TFP estimates. Results suggest that the NQ model performs better than the other two functional forms in providing TFP estimates. The third essay capitalizes on newly available high frequency energy consumption data from commercial buildings in the District of Columbia (DC) to provide novel insights on the realized energy use impacts of energy efficiency standards in commercial buildings. Combining these data with hourly weather data and information on tenancy contract structure I evaluate the impacts of energy standards, contractual structure of utility bill payments, and energy star labeling on account level electricity consumption. Using this unique panel dataset, the analysis takes advantage of detailed building-level characteristics and the heterogeneity in the building age distribution, resulting in buildings constructed before and after mandatory energy standards came into effect. Estimation results suggest that in commercial buildings constructed under a code, electricity consumption is lower by about 0.48 kWh per cooling degree hour. When tenants pay for their own utilities, consumption is lower by 0.82 kWh per cooling degree hour. The Energy Star effect is a 0.31 kWh reduction per cooling degree hour. Finally, peak savings for all three variables of interest occur at 2pm in the summer months, whereas peak summer marginal prices at DC's local electric utility occur at 5pm.