Technical efficiency of cocoa farms at varying elevation levels in Davao City, Philippines: implications to sustainable upland farming systems

Elevation is one of many components that influence agriculture, and this in turn affects the level of both inputs and outputs of farmers. This article focuses on the productivity and technical efficiency of 100 cocoa farms using cross-sectional data from areas ranging from 190 to 1021 m above sea level which were classified as low, medium, and high elevation in Davao City, considered as the chocolate capital of the Philippines. Using stochastic frontier analysis, the results showed that the cost of inputs per ha and the number of cocoa trees per ha significantly increase yield. Farms at high elevations were less technically efficient, as this entails lower temperatures and increased rainfall, and cocoa farming in those areas and conditions can be more challenging, especially with changes in farming practices, terrain, and distance to markets. Other significant variables were age of cocoa farms, married farmers, and age of the farmers. Older farms may be more developed, farmers who are married benefit from their spouses being able to readily contribute as farm labor, and lastly, older farmers' inefficiency may likely stem from nonadaptation of newer farming practices. With an average technical efficiency of 0.61, 0.63, and 0.26 in low, medium, and high elevation areas, respectively, farmers therefore have an incentive to improve farm practices and consider topographical variations found in high elevation areas. Recommendations for the improvement of technical efficiency of cocoa farms are better connectivity to markets, enhancing farm practices, and continuation and improvement of government programs on cocoa with an added emphasis on research. For farmers in high elevation areas, mitigating solutions such as sustainable agriculture practices and ecolabelling are key to improving efficiency and minimizing the potential negative impact on upland farming systems. Moreover, such adaptation measures may also contribute to sustainability of cocoa farming in high elevation areas.

Impact of environmental regulations on the efficient control of industrial pollution in China

The continuous progress of industrialization is a fundamental cause of China’s increasingly severe environmental pollution problem.Improving the efficiency of industrial pollution control is an inevitable choice to effectively decrease pollution emissions,thus winning the battle of pollution prevention and control.In this paper,we used the stochastic frontier analysis(SFA)model to measure the provincial efficiency of industrial pollution control based on the input and output data of industrial pollution control of 29 administrative provinces in China from 2000 to 2017.On this basis,a spatial econometric model was used to explore the influence of environmental regulation intensity on the efficiency of industrial pollution control.In addition,the spatial spillover effect of pollution reduction was thoroughly examined.The results show that:(1)The efficiency of industrial pollution control in China has improved year by year,but the overall efficiency is still low,with the average value increasing from 0.165 in 2000 to 0.309 in 2017.Furthermore,there is significant regional heterogeneity with the highest efficiency level in the east and lowest efficiency level in the west.(2)By increasing the financial and material input,the efficiency of industrial pollution control has increased.However,the increase of human input has not been so helpful.(3)The global Moran’s I index is significantly greater than zero,indicating a strong spatial correlation and agglomeration in the efficiency of industrial pollution control,which is reflected in high-high agglomeration in the eastern region and low-low agglomeration in the western region.(4)Stringent environmental regulation has a positive effect on improving the efficiency of industrial pollution control.It also imposes a positive spatial spillover effect,indicating a strategic interaction and coordination of regional pollution control.In line with this,related proposals have been made to optimize the investment structure for environmental pollution control,establish a flow mechanism for the factor market,and strengthen the environmental responsibility awareness of state-owned enterprises.On this basis,we expect to provide a policy for improving the efficiency of industrial pollution control and promoting regional joint pollution control in China.

Comparative Study of Three Commonly Used Methods for Hospital Efficiency Analysis in Beijing Tertiary Public Hospitals, China

Background： Tertiary hospitals serve as the medical service center within the region and play an important role in the medical and health service system. They are also the key targets of public hospital reform in the new era in China. Through the reform of health system, the public hospital efficiency has changed remarkably. Therefore, this study aimed to provide some advice for efficiency assessment of public hospitals in China by comparing and analyzing the consistency of results obtained by three commonly used methods for examining hospital efficiency, that is, ratio analysis （RA）, stochastic frontier analysis （SFA）, and data envelopment analysis （DEA）. Methods： The theoretical basis, operational processes, and the application status of RA, SFA, and DEA were learned through literature analysis. Then, the empirical analysis was conducted based on measured data from 51 tertiary public hospitals in Beijing from 2009 to 2011. Results： The average values of hospital efficiency calculated by SFA with index screening and principal component analysis （PCA） results and those calculated by DEA with index screening results were relatively stable. The efficiency of specialized hospitals was higher than that of general hospitals and that of traditional Chinese medicine hospitals. The results obtained by SFA with index screening results and the results obtained by S FA with PCA results showed a relatively high correlation （r-value in 2009, 2010, and 2011 were 0.869, 0.753, and 0.842, respectively, P 〈 0.01）. The correlation between results obtained by DEA with index screening results and PCA results and results obtained by other methods showed statistical significance, but the correlation between results obtained by DEA with index screening results and PCA results was lower than that between results obtained by SFA with index screening results and PCA results. Conclusions： RA is not suitable for multi-index evaluation of hospital efficiency. In the given conditions, SFA is a stable efficiency analysis method. In the evaluation of hospital efficiency, DEA combined with PCA should be adopted with caution due to its poor stability.

2005-2014年长江经济带城镇化效率时空格局特征（英文）

The question of how to generate maximum socio-economic benefits while at the same time minimizing input from urban land resources lies at the core of regional ecological civilization construction. We apply stochastic frontier analysis （SFA） in this study to municipal input-output data for the period between 2005 and 2014 to evaluate the urbanization efficiency of 110 cities within the Yangtze River Economic Belt （YREB） and then further assess the spatial association characteristics of these values. The results of this study initially reveal that the urbanization efficiency of the YREB increased from 0.34 to 0.53 between 2005 and 2014, a significant growth at a cumulative rate of 54.07%. Data show that the efficiency growth rate of cities within the upper reaches of the Yangtze River has been faster than that of their counterparts in the middle and lower reaches, and that there is also a great deal of ad- ditional potential for growth in urbanization efficiency across the whole area. Secondly, results show that urbanization efficiency conforms to a ＂bar-like＂ distribution across the whole area, gradually decreasing from the east to the west. This trend highlights great intra-provincial differences, but also striking inter-provincial variation within the upper, middle, and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The total urbanization efficiency of cities within the lower reaches of the river has been the highest, followed successively by those within the middle and upper reaches. Finally, values for Moran＇s / within this area remained higher than zero over the study period and have increased annually; this result indicates a positive spatial correlation between the urbanization efficiency of cities and annual increments in agglomeration level. Our use of the local indicators of spatial association （LISA） statistic has enabled us to quantify characteristics of ＂small agglomeration and large dispersion＂. Thus, ＂high- high＂ （H-H） agglomeration areas can be seen to have spread outwards from around Zhejiang Province and the city of Shanghai, while areas characterized by ＂low-low＂ （L-L） patterns are mainly concentrated in the north of Anhui Province and in Sichuan Province. The framework and results of this research are of considerable significance to our understanding of both land use sustainability and balanced development.

How Off-farm Employment Affects Technical Efficiency of China＇s Farms＂ The Case of Jiangsu

Using three-wave survey data for four villages of Jiangsu Province in China, the present paper examines whether and to what extent off-farm employment affects the technical efficiency of agricultural production. The level of technical efficiency is measured using a stochastic frontier production function approach. Based on estimation results from instrumental variable panel quantile regressions we find that there is a positive significant effect of off-farm employment on the level of farm technical efficiency. We also find that fragmentation of farmland is a barrier to the improvement of technical efficiency. In addition, we find a downward trend in the level of agricultural technical efficiency among our sample. Therefore, the Chinese Government should stimulate agricultural mechanization and the development of farming techniques to improve technical efficiency in the context of increasing off-farm employment.

Is Bilateral Value Added in Trade between China and EU Countries Efficient?

By applying stochastic frontier analysis,and replacing total export with value added in exports as a more accurate measure of domestic content embodied in exports,we estimate the trade efficiency between China and EU countries and analyze the determinant factors.The results show that the value added in trade between China and EU countries is running at a low level of efficiency,and the trade efficiency has an obvious imbalance between export and import.Our calculation of unexplored trade potential indicates that western EU countries,such as France,Germany,Italy,and Spain together are China 5 top trading partner with the highest unexploited trade potential.Based on the principal component analysis of 14 trading-related variables,trade efficiency determinant results show that the tangible trade infrastructures of both exporter and importer matters most,including airports,container shipping,Internet,and broadband infrastructures.Meanwhile,intangible trade infrastructures,including customs procedures and domestic business environments,has a significant,but smaller influence on trade efficiency.Our important findings shed light on practical trade policymaking to encourage Sino-EU trade collaboration.

A technical efficiency evaluation system for vegetable production in China

With the increasing demand for food worldwide,it has attracted increasing attention how to improve the agricultural production efficiency.This paper aims to develop a technical efficiency evaluation system for vegetable production to provided decisions for the practice of precision agriculture.The paper analyses the system-needs and business processes,and proposes a system framework which has three tiers architectures,based on B/S model.The stochastic frontier analysis(SFA)algorithm model which is the incorporated into the system is established.The system was tested and evaluated by real business data,which were from Beijing from 2003 to 2011 to test system performance based on the temporal perspective and China during 2011 and 2012 to test system performance based on the spatial characteristics.The results shows that the system achieves the business requirements with an intelligent tool for data management and technical efficiency evaluation for vegetable production to improve automation,efficiency and convenience.

The Source of Momentum for Producer Services’Growth China:A Research from the Perspective of Driving Force Decomposition

Under the background of growth driving force conversion,this paper examines the source of growth in the producer services sector in China with the stochastic frontier analysis(SFA)model,using provincial service sector data during 2005-2016.Research fi ndings show that(1)the total factor productivity(TFP)of producer services in China is characterized by multi-stage changes,with technological progress being the primary driving force and industrial growth being“technology-led”.(2)Innovation,represented by increased TFP,is the leading driving force of producer services’growth and the overall structure of driving forces is reasonable;(3)the driven structure of niche industries varies greatly,and the conversion of driving forces must take into account industry characteristics;(4)as developed regions are more capable of coping with external impacts and policy stimuli,innovation is the main driving force for them,while for other regions,where innovation as a driving force is weak and old driving forces has led to extensive growth,their structure way evolve to an irrational state.It is necessary to seize opportunities to promote innovation-driven model and take producer services sector as the main battlefield for the cultivation of new driving forces,giving full consideration to the heterogeneity of different industries and regions.

A study of the correlation between per capita income and the proportion of the service industry during China’s economic transition

Based on a provincial panel threshold regression model with per capita GDP as the threshold variable,this paper explores the correlation between per capita GDP and the proportion of employment in the service industry in different stages of China’s economic development.The results show that no matter the development stage,there is always a positive correlation between the two.The results also show that the more advanced the economic development stage,the bigger and more obvious is the regression coefficient.The empirical results based on stochastic frontier analysis(SFA)modeling indicate that the development of the service industry can always contribute to the improvement of national economic efficiency by creating employment opportunities and enhancing efficiencies in related industries.The more developed an economy is,the more significant is the effect.The results of descriptive statistics suggest that there is no empirical factual basis to support the belief that it is normal for China to have a low service industry proportion at its current economic development stage.This paper seeks to illustrate the negative influence of an underdeveloped service industry on China’s economy,and to encourage leapfrog development of the service industry in China.