Measurement of Productivity and Efficiency: Theory and Practice

Methods and perspectives to model and measure productivity and efficiency have made a number of important advances in the last decade. Using the standard and innovative formulations of the theory and practice of efficiency and productivity measurement, Robin C. Sickles and Valentin Zelenyuk provide a comprehensive approach to productivity and efficiency analysis, covering its theoretical underpinnings and its empirical implementation, paying particular attention to the implications of neoclassical economic theory. A distinct feature of the book is that it presents a wide array of theoretical and empirical methods utilized by researchers and practitioners who study productivity issues. An accompanying website includes methods, programming codes that can be used with widely available software like MATLAB® and R, and test data for many of the productivity and efficiency estimators discussed in the book. It will be valuable to upper-level undergraduates, graduate students, and professionals.

Table of Contents:
Preface; Introduction; 1. Production theory: primal approach; 2. Production theory: dual approach; 3. Efficiency measurement; 4. Productivity indexes: part 1; 5. Aggregation; 6. Functional forms; 7. Productivity indexes: part 2; 8. Envelopment-type estimators; 9. Statistical analysis for DEA and FDH: Part 1; 10. Statistical analysis for DEA and FDH: part 2; 11. Cross-sectional stochastic frontiers; 12. SF models-first generation panel approaches; 13. SF models-second generation approaches; 14. Endogeneity; 15. Dynamic models; 16. Shape restrictions and model averaging; 17. Measurement, KLEMS, and other data; Afterword.

About the Author :
Robin C. Sickles is the Reginald Henry Hargrove Professor of Economics and Professor of Statistics at Rice University, Houston. He served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Productivity Analysis as well as an Associate Editor for a number of other economics and econometrics journals. He is currently an Associate Editor of the Journal of Econometrics. Valentin Zelenyuk is the Australian Research Council Future Fellow at the School of Economics at the University of Queensland, where he served as Research Director and Director of the Centre for Efficiency and Productivity Analysis. He is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Productivity Analysis and the Data Envelopment Analysis Journal.

Review :
'Sickles and Zelenyuk have written the most comprehensive book on production theory and the measurement of productivity in the history of these subjects. Researchers, students and teachers who are interested in production theory and the measurement of productivity will treasure this book.' W. Erwin Diewert, University of British Columbia and University of New South Wales 'Productivity and efficiency measurement has been a growth area for fifty years. Sickles and Zelenyuk bring together all the theory and practice, including the rich history, the full range of methods, and all the schools of thought. This is an amazingly comprehensive survey of the field.' William Greene, New York University 'Robin Sickles and Valentin Zelenyuk have written an outstanding book on a very important topic – the measurement of productivity and efficiency. The book provides a complete and thorough introduction to the economic theory of production and its many applications to national accounting and econometric modeling. An especially valuable feature of the book is the detailed treatment of productivity and growth in the world economy.' Dale Jorgenson, Samuel W. Morris University Professor, Harvard University 'Rarely does a book comprehensively survey and creatively extend both the theoretical underpinnings and the practical implementation of a field of research. This is such a book, and it belongs on the desk of all scholars interested in producer performance measurement.' C. A. Knox Lovell, University of Queensland 'Sickles and Zelenyuk, outstanding researchers from two generations, impart their knowledge and wisdom into this monumental book on theory and practice of efficiency and productivity measurement. This is an invaluable resource for graduate students, researchers and practitioners alike. Strongly recommended.' D. S. Prasada Rao, University of Queensland 'This book is a comprehensive treatment of the economic and statistical issues involved in the estimation of the efficiency of production. It covers both stochastic frontier models and envelopment-type methods such as DEA and FDH. It is the best and most comprehensive currently available treatment of this topic.' Peter Schmidt, Michigan State University 'This book is an important contribution to both economic theory of productivity and efficiency and its measurement. It is a seminal work that highlights the significance of 'theory with measurement' and 'measurement with theory'.' H. Pyo, Seoul National University 'Robin Sickles and Valentin Zelenyuk have brought together a large set of research results both in the theoretical analysis and in the empirical aspects of productivity and efficiency. This results in a comprehensive textbook with deep insights on the theory of production and large discussions on the econometrics implementations. The book will, for sure, be a useful resource for researchers in the field.' Léopold Simar, Université Catholique de Louvain 'The book thoroughly covers theory (index numbers, axiomatic production theory, DEA, FDH, stochastic models, inference) and practice of measurement of efficiency and productivity, including issues and sources of data with links, as well as links to software and models. A rigorous and truly indispensable guide - and all this and more in a mere 630 pages.' Rolf Fare and Shawna Grosskopf, Oregon State University