IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecanpo/v59y2018icp84-91.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Technical efficiency of small and medium manufacturing firms in Vietnam: A stochastic meta-frontier analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Le, Viet
  • Vu, Xuan-Binh (Benjamin)
  • Nghiem, Son

Abstract

Small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in the Vietnamese economy; hence more understanding of their efficiency is of interest for a variety of various stakeholders in Vietnam. This paper estimates technological gaps and identifies factors affecting variations in the technical efficiency of SMEs in Vietnam using firm-level survey data in 2008 in a stochastic meta-frontier framework. We found that, on average, SMEs can increase their current outputs by eight percent using the same quantity of inputs. Firms operating in major cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are found to be more efficient and possess better technology. Our evidence indicates that most SMEs in Vietnam use relatively low-level technologies, evidenced by the higher return from labour and raw materials than that from capital.

Suggested Citation

  • Le, Viet & Vu, Xuan-Binh (Benjamin) & Nghiem, Son, 2018. "Technical efficiency of small and medium manufacturing firms in Vietnam: A stochastic meta-frontier analysis," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 84-91.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecanpo:v:59:y:2018:i:c:p:84-91
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eap.2018.03.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0313592617302151
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.eap.2018.03.001?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Burki, Abid A. & Terrell, Dek, 1998. "Measuring production efficiency of small firms in Pakistan," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 155-169, January.
    2. Nguyen Thang & To Trung Thanh & Vu Hoang Dat, 2006. "Productivity analysis for Vietnam’s textile and garment industry," Philippine Review of Economics, University of the Philippines School of Economics and Philippine Economic Society, vol. 43(1), pages 131-166, June.
    3. Marijn Verschelde & Michel Dumont & Glenn Rayp & Bruno Merlevede, 2016. "Semiparametric stochastic metafrontier efficiency of European manufacturing firms," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 53-69, February.
    4. Thi Bich Tran & R. Quentin Grafton & Tom Kompas, 2008. "Firm Efficiency in a Transitional Economy: Evidence from Vietnam," Asian Economic Journal, East Asian Economic Association, vol. 22(1), pages 47-66, March.
    5. Cliff Huang & Tai-Hsin Huang & Nan-Hung Liu, 2014. "A new approach to estimating the metafrontier production function based on a stochastic frontier framework," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 42(3), pages 241-254, December.
    6. Soderbom, Mans & Teal, Francis, 2004. "Size and efficiency in African manufacturing firms: evidence from firm-level panel data," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(1), pages 369-394, February.
    7. Brada, Josef C & King, Arthur E & Ma, Chia Ying, 1997. "Industrial Economics of the Transition: Determinants of Enterprise Efficiency in Czechoslovakia and Hungary," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 49(1), pages 104-127, January.
    8. Christopher O’Donnell & D. Rao & George Battese, 2008. "Metafrontier frameworks for the study of firm-level efficiencies and technology ratios," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 34(2), pages 231-255, March.
    9. Nguyen, Sang V & Lee, Seong-Hoon, 2002. "Returns to Scale in Small and Large U.S. Manufacturing Establishments: Further Evidence," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 41-50, August.
    10. Aw, Bee Yan & Chen, Xiaomin & Roberts, Mark J., 2001. "Firm-level evidence on productivity differentials and turnover in Taiwanese manufacturing," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 51-86, October.
    11. Margono, Heru & Sharma, Subhash C., 2006. "Efficiency and productivity analyses of Indonesian manufacturing industries," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(6), pages 979-995, December.
    12. Vu Hoang Duong, 2016. "Technical efficiency of FDI firms in the Vietnamese manufacturing sector," Review of Economic Perspectives, Sciendo, vol. 16(3), pages 205-230, September.
    13. Erol Taymaz, 2005. "Are Small Firms Really Less Productive?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 25(5), pages 429-445, December.
    14. Battese, G E & Coelli, T J, 1995. "A Model for Technical Inefficiency Effects in a Stochastic Frontier Production Function for Panel Data," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 325-332.
    15. Karl Lundvall & George Battese, 2000. "Firm size, age and efficiency: Evidence from Kenyan manufacturing firms," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(3), pages 146-163.
    16. Quoc Ngu Vu, 2003. "Technical Efficiency of Industrial State‐Owned Enterprises in Vietnam," Asian Economic Journal, East Asian Economic Association, vol. 17(1), pages 87-101, March.
    17. Nolwenn Roudaut, 2006. "Influences of the Business Environment on Manufacturing Firms Technical Efficiencies: The Côte d’Ivoire Case," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 93-109, April.
    18. Wing, Clement Chow Kong & Fung, Michael Ka-yiu, 1997. "Firm Size and Performance of Manufacturing Enterprises in P.R. China: The Case of Shanghai's Manufacturing Industries," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 9(3), pages 287-298, June.
    19. Nguyen, Khac Minh & Giang, Thanh Long, 2005. "Efficiency of Construction Firms in Vietnam," MPRA Paper 968, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Nov 2006.
    20. Pitt, Mark M. & Lee, Lung-Fei, 1981. "The measurement and sources of technical inefficiency in the Indonesian weaving industry," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 43-64, August.
    21. Hallberg, K., 2000. "A Market-Oriented Strategy for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises," Papers 40, World Bank - International Finance Corporation.
    22. Karine Chapelle & Patrick Plane, 2005. "Technical efficiency measurement within the manufacturing sector in Côte d'Ivoire: A stochastic frontier approach," Post-Print hal-02444307, HAL.
    23. Alvarez, Roberto & Crespi, Gustavo, 2003. "Determinants of Technical Efficiency in Small Firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 233-244, May.
    24. Le, Viet & Harvie, Charles, 2010. "Firm Performance in Vietnam:Evidence from Manufacturing Small and Medium Enterprises," Economics Working Papers wp10-04, School of Economics, University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia.
    25. Karine Chapelle & Patrick Plane, 2005. "Technical efficiency measurement within the manufacturing sector in Cote d'Ivoire: A stochastic frontier approach," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(7), pages 1303-1324.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Clara Inés Pardo Martínez & Alexander Cotte Poveda, 2022. "The effects of environmental performance on competitiveness and innovation: a stochastic frontier approach for Colombia," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 42(1), pages 51-62, March.
    2. Thanh-Hang Pham & Manh-Toan Ho & Thu-Trang Vuong & Manh-Cuong Nguyen & Quan-Hoang Vuong, 2020. "Entrepreneurial Finance: Insights from English Language Training Market in Vietnam," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-23, May.
    3. Viet Nguyen, Thanh & Simioni, Michel & Le Van, Dao, 2019. "Assessment of TFP change at provincial level in Vietnam: New evidence using Färe–Primont productivity index," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 329-345.
    4. Nguyen, Duc Loc & Grote, Ulrike & Nguyen, Trung Thanh, 2019. "Migration, crop production and non-farm labor diversification in rural Vietnam," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 175-187.
    5. Vuong, Quan-Hoang, 2018. "From Economic Complexities to Computational Entrepreneurship," OSF Preprints kqbmg, Center for Open Science.
    6. Vuong Quan Hoang & La Viet Phuong & Vuong Thu Trang & Hoang Phuong Hanh & Ho Manh Toan & Ho Manh Tung & Nguyen Hong Kong To, 2020. "Multi-faceted insights of entrepreneurship facing a fast-growing economy: A literature review," Open Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 3(1), pages 25-41, January.
    7. Kar, Ashim Kumar & Rahman, Sanzidur, 2018. "Changes in total factor productivity and efficiency of microfinance institutions in the developing world: A non-parametric approach," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 103-118.
    8. Tran, Viet T. & Nguyen, Trung Thanh & Tran, Nguyet T.M., 2019. "Gender difference in access to local finance and firm performance: Evidence from a panel survey in Vietnam," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 150-164.
    9. David Cummins, J. & Rubio-Misas, María, 2021. "Country factor behavior for integration improvement of European life insurance markets," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 186-202.
    10. Lamees Al-Durgham & Mohammad Adeinat, 2020. "Efficiency of Listed Manufacturing Firms in Jordan: A Stochastic Frontier Analysis," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 10(6), pages 5-9.
    11. Sun, Kege & Wu, Libo, 2020. "Efficiency distortion of the power generation sector under the dual regulation of price and quantity in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    12. Efendić Velid & Hadžiahmetović Nejra, 2019. "Productivity Change of Microfinance Institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina," South East European Journal of Economics and Business, Sciendo, vol. 14(2), pages 23-33, December.
    13. V.V. Spitsin & A. Mikhalchuk & Darko B. Vukovic & L.Y. Spitsina, 2023. "Technical Efficiency of High-Technology Industries in the Crisis: Evidence from Russia," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 14(1), pages 200-225, March.
    14. Graziella Bonanno & Annalisa Ferrando & Stefania Patrizia Sonia Rossi, 2023. "Do innovation and financial constraints affect the profit efficiency of European enterprises?," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 13(1), pages 57-86, March.
    15. Zdeňka Náglová & Marie Šimpachová Pechrová, 2019. "Subsidies and technical efficiency of Czech food processing industry," Agricultural Economics, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 65(4), pages 151-159.
    16. Phuc Trong Ho & Pham Xuan Hung & Nguyen Duc Tien, 2023. "Effects of varieties and seasons on cost efficiency in rice farming: A stochastic metafrontier approach," Asian Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 13(2), pages 120-129.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chih-Hai Yang & Ku-Hsieh Chen, 2009. "Are small firms less efficient?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 32(4), pages 375-395, April.
    2. Charoenrat, Teerawat & Harvie, Charles, 2014. "The efficiency of SMEs in Thai manufacturing: A stochastic frontier analysis," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 372-393.
    3. Shamsuzzoha & Makoto Tanaka, 2021. "The role of human capital on the performance of manufacturing firms in Bangladesh," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(1), pages 21-33, January.
    4. Wu, Zai Bin & Yeung, Godfrey & Mok, Vincent & Han, Zhaozhou, 2007. "Firm-specific knowledge and technical efficiency of watch and clock manufacturing firms in China," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(2), pages 317-332, June.
    5. Rajesh Raj S.N., 2011. "Technical Efficiency in the Informal Manufacturing Sector," Journal of South Asian Development, , vol. 6(2), pages 213-232, October.
    6. Antonio Arbelo & Marta Arbelo-Pérez & Pilar Pérez-Gómez, 2022. "Are SMEs less efficient? A Bayesian approach to addressing heterogeneity across firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(4), pages 1915-1929, April.
    7. Lamees Al-Durgham & Mohammad Adeinat, 2020. "Efficiency of Listed Manufacturing Firms in Jordan: A Stochastic Frontier Analysis," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 10(6), pages 5-9.
    8. Lee, Chi-Chuan & Huang, Tai-Hsin, 2017. "Cost efficiency and technological gap in Western European banks: A stochastic metafrontier analysis," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 161-178.
    9. Peiyuan Xu, 2020. "Do SME Policy Improve Firm Productivity? Empirical Evidence from Latin America and China," International Business Research, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 13(3), pages 1-47, March.
    10. Rajesh Raj, Seethamma Natarajan, 2007. "Technical Efficiency in the Informal Manufacturing Enterprises: Firm level evidence from an Indian state," MPRA Paper 7816, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Hailu, Kidanemariam Berhe & Tanaka, Makoto, 2015. "A “true” random effects stochastic frontier analysis for technical efficiency and heterogeneity: Evidence from manufacturing firms in Ethiopia," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 179-192.
    12. Teerawat Charoenrat & Charles Harvie, 2012. "Technical Efficiency of Thai Manufacturing SMEs: a Comparative Study of North-eastern Provinces," Economics Working Papers wp12-03, School of Economics, University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia.
    13. Mariarosaria Agostino & Sabrina Ruberto & Francesco Trivieri, 2018. "Lasting lending relationships and technical efficiency. Evidence on European SMEs," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 50(1), pages 25-40, October.
    14. Kashika Arora & Areej A. Siddiqui & Biswajit Nag, 2020. "Devevloping Linkages Between Export Guarantees And Technical Efficiency Of Indian Firms," Working Papers 2045, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade.
    15. Li, Hong-Zhou & Kopsakangas-Savolainen, Maria & Yan, Ming-Zhe & Wang, Jian-Lin & Xie, Bai-Chen, 2019. "Which provincial administrative regions in China should reduce their coal consumption? An environmental energy input requirement function based analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 51-63.
    16. Adugna Lemi & Ian Wright, 2020. "Exports, foreign ownership, and firm-level efficiency in Ethiopia and Kenya: an application of the stochastic frontier model," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 58(2), pages 669-698, February.
    17. Zhang, H. & Fan, L.W. & Zhou, P., 2020. "Handling heterogeneity in frontier modeling of city-level energy efficiency: The case of China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    18. Teerawat Charoenrat & Charles Harvie, 2017. "The Performance of Thai Manufacturing SMEs: Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) Approach," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 18(5), pages 1178-1198, October.
    19. Stavros Kourtzidis & Nickolaos G. Tzeremes, 2019. "Investigating the determinants of firm performance," European Journal of Management and Business Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 29(1), pages 3-22, June.
    20. Thanh Pham Thien Nguyen & Son Hong Nghiem & Eduardo Roca & Parmendra Sharma, 2016. "Efficiency, innovation and competition: evidence from Vietnam, China and India," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 51(3), pages 1235-1259, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Technical efficiency; Meta-frontier; SMEs; Vietnam;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecanpo:v:59:y:2018:i:c:p:84-91. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/economic-analysis-and-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.