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Organizational Form and Efficiency: An Analysis of Stock and Mutual Property-Liability Insurers

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Author Info
J. David Cummins
Mary A. Weiss
Hongmin Zi

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Abstract

This paper analyzes the efficiency of stock and mutual organizational forms in the property-liability insurance industry using nonparametric frontier efficiency methods. We test the managerial discretion hypothesis, which predicts that the market will sort organizational forms into market segments where they have comparative advantages in minimizing the costs of production, including agency costs. Both production and cost frontiers are estimated. The results indicate that stocks and mutuals are operating on separate production and cost frontiers and thus represent distinct technologies. The stock technology dominates the mutual technology for producing stock output vectors and the mutual technology dominates the stock technology for producing mutual output vectors. However, the stock cost frontier dominates the mutual cost frontier for the majority of both stock and mutual firms. Thus, the mutuals' technological advantage is eroded because they are less successful than stocks in choosing cost-minimizing combinations of inputs. The finding of separate frontiers and organization specific technological advantages is consistent with the managerial discretion hypothesis, but we also find evidence that stocks are more successful than mutuals in minimizing costs.

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Paper provided by Wharton School Center for Financial Institutions, University of Pennsylvania in its series Center for Financial Institutions Working Papers with number 97-02.

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Date of creation: May 1998
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Handle: RePEc:wop:pennin:97-02

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Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Cummins, J. David & Weiss, Mary A., 1993. "Measuring cost efficiency in the property-liability insurance industry," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(2-3), pages 463-481, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Mester, Loretta J., 1991. "Agency costs among savings and loans," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 1(3), pages 257-278, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Elyasiani, Elyas & Mehdian, Seyed, 1992. "Productive efficiency performance of minority and nonminority-owned banks: A nonparametric approach," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 16(5), pages 933-948, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Fama, Eugene F & Jensen, Michael C, 1983. "Separation of Ownership and Control," Journal of Law & Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(2), pages 301-25, June.
  6. Berger, Allen N & Cummins, J David & Weiss, Mary A, 1997. "The Coexistence of Multiple Distribution Systems for Financial Services: The Case of Property-Liability Insurance," Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 70(4), pages 515-46, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. Mayers, David & Smith, Clifford Jr., 1986. "Ownership structure and control : The mutualization of stock life insurance companies," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(1), pages 73-98, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Fama, Eugene F & Jensen, Michael C, 1983. "Agency Problems and Residual Claims," Journal of Law & Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(2), pages 327-49, June.
  9. Mayers, David & Smith, Clifford W, Jr, 1988. "Ownership Structure across Lines of Property-Casualty Insurance," Journal of Law & Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 31(2), pages 351-78, October.
  10. Lee, Soon-Jae & Mayers, David & Smith Jr., Clifford W., 1997. "Guaranty funds and risk-taking Evidence from the insurance industry," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 3-24, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Mayers, David & Smith, Clifford W, Jr, 1992. "Executive Compensation in the Life Insurance Industry," Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 65(1), pages 51-74, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Gardner, Lisa A. & Grace, Martin F., 1993. "X-Efficiency in the US life insurance industry," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(2-3), pages 497-510, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Fukuyama, Hirofumi, 1997. "Investigating productive efficiency and productivity changes of Japanese life insurance companies," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 5(4), pages 481-509, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Fare, Rolf & Shawna Grosskopf & Mary Norris & Zhongyang Zhang, 1994. "Productivity Growth, Technical Progress, and Efficiency Change in Industrialized Countries," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(1), pages 66-83, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Berger, Allen N. & Humphrey, David B., 1991. "The dominance of inefficiencies over scale and product mix economies in banking," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 117-148, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  16. Mayers, David & Smith, Clifford W, Jr, 1981. "Contractual Provisions, Organizational Structure, and Conflict Control in Insurance Markets," Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 54(3), pages 407-34, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  17. Allen N. Berger & David B. Humphrey, 1992. "Measurement and Efficiency Issues in Commercial Banking," NBER Chapters, in: Output Measurement in the Service Sectors, pages 245-300 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Jacob Bikker & Janko Gorter, 2008. "Performance of the Dutch non-life insurance industry: competition, efficiency and focus," DNB Working Papers 164, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Robert W. Klein & Paul R. Kleindorfer, 1999. "The Supply of Catastrophe Insurance Under Regulatory Constraints," Center for Financial Institutions Working Papers 99-25, Wharton School Center for Financial Institutions, University of Pennsylvania. [Downloadable!]
  3. J. David Cummins & Mary A. Weiss, 1998. "Analyzing Firm Performance in the Insurance Industry Using Frontier Efficiency Methods," Center for Financial Institutions Working Papers 98-22, Wharton School Center for Financial Institutions, University of Pennsylvania. [Downloadable!]
  4. J. David Cummins & Maria Rubio-Misas, 2001. "Deregulation, Consolidation, and Efficiency: Evidence From the Spanish Insurance Industry," Center for Financial Institutions Working Papers 02-01, Wharton School Center for Financial Institutions, University of Pennsylvania. [Downloadable!]
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