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Opening the Black Box on Bank Efficiency in China: Does Economic Freedom Matter?

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  • Fadzlan Sufian
  • Muzafar Shah Habibullah

Abstract

The paper provides, for the first time, empirical evidence on the impact of economic freedom on bank efficiency in a developing economy. We employ the Data Envelopment Analysis method to compute the efficiency of the Chinese banking sector during 2000--2008. The empirical findings indicate that the inefficiency of the Chinese banking sector stems largely from scale rather than pure technical. By examining different dimensions of economic freedom, we find that not all are equally regressive on bank efficiency. We find that the impact of business freedom to be positive, implying that higher (lower) freedom for entrepreneurs to start businesses increases (reduces) bank efficiency. Similarly, monetary freedom is positively related to bank efficiency levels, indicating the importance of a stable and reliable monetary policy to business environment. On the other hand, the impact of financial freedom is negative, implying that higher (lower) financial freedom reduces (increases) the efficiency of banks operating in the Chinese banking sector.

Suggested Citation

  • Fadzlan Sufian & Muzafar Shah Habibullah, 2011. "Opening the Black Box on Bank Efficiency in China: Does Economic Freedom Matter?," Global Economic Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(3), pages 269-298, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:glecrv:v:40:y:2011:i:3:p:269-298
    DOI: 10.1080/1226508X.2011.601633
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Paul W. Wilson & Shirong Zhao, 2023. "Investigating the performance of Chinese banks over 2007–2014," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 321(1), pages 663-692, February.
    2. Woon Kan Yap & Siong Hock Law & Judhiana Abdul-Ghani, 2019. "Effects of Credit Market Freedom on Output Reallocation in China's Banking Sector Through the Intermediation of Cost X-inefficiency," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 20(2), pages 691-720, November.
    3. Alsaleh, Mohd & Abdul-Rahim, A.S., 2018. "Determinants of cost efficiency of bioenergy industry: Evidence from EU28 countries," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 746-762.
    4. Sepideh Kaffash & Reza Kazemi Matin & Mohammad Tajik, 2018. "A directional semi-oriented radial DEA measure: an application on financial stability and the efficiency of banks," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 264(1), pages 213-234, May.
    5. Compton, Ryan A. & Giedeman, Daniel C. & Hoover, Gary A., 2014. "A distributional analysis of the benefits of economic freedom," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 121-133.
    6. Lin, Kun-Li & Doan, Anh Tuan & Doong, Shuh-Chyi, 2016. "Changes in ownership structure and bank efficiency in Asian developing countries: The role of financial freedom," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 19-34.
    7. Ikram Ullah Khan & Sadaqat Ali & Habib Nawaz Khan, 2018. "Market Concentration, Risk-taking, and Efficiency of Commercial Banks in Pakistan: An Application of the Two-Stage Double Bootstrap DEA," Business & Economic Review, Institute of Management Sciences, Peshawar, Pakistan, vol. 10(2), pages 65-96, June.
    8. Mohd Alsaleh & A.S. Abdul-Rahim & H.O. Mohd-Shahwahid & Lee Chin & Fakarudin Kamarudin, 2016. "An Empirical Analysis for Technical Efficiency of Bioenergy Industry in EU28 Region Based on Data Envelopment Analysis Method," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 6(2), pages 290-304.
    9. Chen, Xiang & Wang, Yujia & Wu, Xin, 2022. "Exploring the source of the financial performance in Chinese banks: A risk-adjusted decomposition approach," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    10. Alsaleh, Mohd & Abdul-Rahim, A.S. & Mohd-Shahwahid, H.O., 2017. "Determinants of technical efficiency in the bioenergy industry in the EU28 region," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 1331-1349.

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