IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/wzbmpg/200821.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Measuring local government technical (in)efficiency: An application and comparison of FDH, DEA and econometric approaches

Author

Listed:
  • Geys, Benny
  • Moesen, Wim

Abstract

Economic efficiency – understood in terms of jurisdictions providing a maximum amount of output for a given level of inputs – is one potential means to evaluate public policies. Various approaches, however, co-exist to measure the (technical) efficiency of organizations. Given that these rely on different underlying assumptions, it is important to assess whether, and to what extent, the approach taken affects the outcome of efficiency studies. The present paper employs a dataset of local governments in Flanders in 2000 to compare the three common approaches to measure (in)efficiency (i.c. FDH, DEA and econometric techniques). Our results indicate that the methodological choices of instrumentation have a substantial effect on analytic performance measurement. Hence, assessing the robustness of the results across various approaches to efficiency measurement is crucial to avoid incorrect inferences.

Suggested Citation

  • Geys, Benny & Moesen, Wim, 2008. "Measuring local government technical (in)efficiency: An application and comparison of FDH, DEA and econometric approaches," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Market Processes and Governance SP II 2008-21, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:wzbmpg:200821
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/54663/1/620009098.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gordon Tullock, 1969. "Federalism: Problems of scale," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 19-29, March.
    2. Kelvin Balcombe & Iain Fraser & Jae Kim, 2006. "Estimating technical efficiency of Australian dairy farms using alternative frontier methodologies," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(19), pages 2221-2236.
    3. Christian von Hirschhausen & Astrid Cullmann & Andreas Kappeler, 2006. "Efficiency analysis of German electricity distribution utilities - non-parametric and parametric tests," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(21), pages 2553-2566.
    4. Christensen, Laurits R & Jorgenson, Dale W & Lau, Lawrence J, 1973. "Transcendental Logarithmic Production Frontiers," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 55(1), pages 28-45, February.
    5. María Teresa Balaguer-Coll & Diego Prior & José Manuel Vela-Bargues, 2002. "Efficiency and quality in local government management. The case of spanish local authorities," Working Papers 200202, Departament Empresa, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
    6. J. Cummins & Hongmin Zi, 1998. "Comparison of Frontier Efficiency Methods: An Application to the U.S. Life Insurance Industry," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 10(2), pages 131-152, October.
    7. De Borger, Bruno & Kerstens, Kristiaan, 1996. "Cost efficiency of Belgian local governments: A comparative analysis of FDH, DEA, and econometric approaches," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 145-170, April.
    8. Henry Tulkens, 2006. "On FDH Efficiency Analysis: Some Methodological Issues and Applications to Retail Banking, Courts and Urban Transit," Springer Books, in: Parkash Chander & Jacques Drèze & C. Knox Lovell & Jack Mintz (ed.), Public goods, environmental externalities and fiscal competition, chapter 0, pages 311-342, Springer.
    9. Bauer, Paul W. & Berger, Allen N. & Ferrier, Gary D. & Humphrey, David B., 1998. "Consistency Conditions for Regulatory Analysis of Financial Institutions: A Comparison of Frontier Efficiency Methods," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 85-114, March.
    10. Jondrow, James & Knox Lovell, C. A. & Materov, Ivan S. & Schmidt, Peter, 1982. "On the estimation of technical inefficiency in the stochastic frontier production function model," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 19(2-3), pages 233-238, August.
    11. Maria Teresa Balaguer-Coll & Diego Prior-Jiménez & José Manuel Vela-Bargues, 2002. "Efficiency and Quality in Local Government Management. The case of Spanish Local Authotities," Working Papers 0202, Departament Empresa, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, revised Feb 2002.
    12. Fried, Harold O. & Lovell, C. A. Knox & Schmidt, Shelton S. (ed.), 1993. "The Measurement of Productive Efficiency: Techniques and Applications," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195072181.
    13. Balaguer-Coll, Maria Teresa & Prior, Diego & Tortosa-Ausina, Emili, 2007. "On the determinants of local government performance: A two-stage nonparametric approach," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(2), pages 425-451, February.
    14. Erik Mathijs & Johan F. M. Swinnen, 2001. "Production Organization And Efficiency During Transition: An Empirical Analysis Of East German Agriculture," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 83(1), pages 100-107, February.
    15. De Borger, B & Kerstens, K. & Moesen, W. & Vanneste, J., 1994. "Explaining Differences in Productive Efficiency: An Application to Belgian Municipalities," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 80(3-4), pages 339-358, September.
    16. Matthias Staat, 2006. "Efficiency of hospitals in Germany: a DEA-bootstrap approach," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(19), pages 2255-2263.
    17. Geys, Benny, 2006. "Looking across borders: A test of spatial policy interdependence using local government efficiency ratings," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(3), pages 443-462, November.
    18. Meeusen, Wim & van den Broeck, Julien, 1977. "Efficiency Estimation from Cobb-Douglas Production Functions with Composed Error," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 18(2), pages 435-444, June.
    19. Laurens Cherchye & Timo Kuosmanen & Thierry Post, 2000. "What Is the Economic Meaning of FDH? A Reply to Thrall," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 263-267, May.
    20. Laurens Cherchye & Frederic Vermeulen, 2004. "Robust rankings of multi-dimensional performances: An application to Tour de France racing cyclists," Public Economics Working Paper Series wptourf, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Centrum voor Economische Studiën, Working Group Public Economics.
    21. Jorid Kalseth & Jørn Rattsø, 1998. "Political Control of Administrative Spending: The Case of Local Governments in Norway," Chapters, in: Jørn Rattsø (ed.), Fiscal Federalism and State–local Finance, chapter 11, pages 181-201, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    22. Paul W. Bauer, 1987. "A technique for estimating a cost system that allows for inefficiency," Working Papers (Old Series) 8704, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.
    23. Lars-Erik Borge & Torberg Falch & Per Tovmo, 2008. "Public sector efficiency: the roles of political and budgetary institutions, fiscal capacity, and democratic participation," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 136(3), pages 475-495, September.
    24. Andrew Worthington & Brian Dollery, 2002. "Incorporating contextual information in public sector efficiency analyses: a comparative study of NSW local government," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(4), pages 453-464.
    25. Wallace E. Oates & Wallace E. Oates, 2004. "An Essay on Fiscal Federalism," Chapters, in: Environmental Policy and Fiscal Federalism, chapter 22, pages 384-414, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    26. Alt, James E. & Lassen, David Dreyer, 2006. "Fiscal transparency, political parties, and debt in OECD countries," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(6), pages 1403-1439, August.
    27. repec:ant:wpaper:1992276 is not listed on IDEAS
    28. Laurens Cherchye & Frederic Vermeulen, 2006. "Robust Rankings of Multidimensional Performances," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 7(4), pages 359-373, November.
    29. Geys, Benny & Heinemann, Friedrich & Kalb, Alexander, 2007. "Local Governments in the Wake of Demographic Change: Efficiency and Economies of Scale in German Municipalities," ZEW Discussion Papers 07-036, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    30. David Hauner, 2005. "Explaining efficiency differences among large German and Austrian banks," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(9), pages 969-980.
    31. Shunxiang Wu & Stephen Devadoss & Yaochi Lu, 2003. "Estimation and decomposition of technical efficiency for sugarbeet farms," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(4), pages 471-484.
    32. repec:ant:wpaper:1992011 is not listed on IDEAS
    33. Pierre-Guillaume Méon & Laurent Weill, 2004. "Does better governance foster efficiency? An aggregate frontier analysis," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 75-90, January.
    34. Jan Vermeir & Bruno Heyndels, 2006. "Tax policy and yardstick voting in Flemish municipal elections," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(19), pages 2285-2298.
    35. VANDEN EECKAUT, Philippe & TULKENS, Henry & JAMAR, Marie-Astrid, 1993. "Cost efficiency in Belgian municipalities," LIDAM Reprints CORE 1033, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    36. Jean Hindriks & François Gerard, 2005. "Le palmarès des villes et communes en Wallonie : une approche en termes d'efficacité," Regards économiques 35, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    37. Hasenkamp, Georg, 1976. "A study of multiple-output production functions : Klein's railroad study revisited," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 4(3), pages 253-262, August.
    38. Aigner, Dennis & Lovell, C. A. Knox & Schmidt, Peter, 1977. "Formulation and estimation of stochastic frontier production function models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 21-37, July.
    39. DE BORGER, Bruno & KERSTENS, K. & MOESEN, Wim & VANNESTE, Jacques, 1992. "A non-parametric non-convex approach to technical efficiency: An illustration of radial efficiency measures and some sensitivity results," SESO Working Papers 1992011, University of Antwerp, Faculty of Business and Economics.
    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. Geys, Benny & Heinemann, Friedrich & Kalb, Alexander, 2010. "Voter involvement, fiscal autonomy and public sector efficiency: Evidence from German municipalities," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 265-278, June.
    2. Geys, Benny & Heinemann, Friedrich & Kalb, Alexander, 2007. "Local Governments in the Wake of Demographic Change: Efficiency and Economies of Scale in German Municipalities," ZEW Discussion Papers 07-036, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    3. Isaac Otoo & Michael Danquah, 2021. "Fiscal decentralization and efficiency of public services delivery by local governments in Ghana," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 33(3), pages 411-425, September.
    4. Tumaniants, Karen A. (Туманянц, Карэн) & Sesina, Julia E. (Сесина, Юлия), 2017. "Social Expenditures of Russian Regions in Terms of “Input-Output” [Расходы На Социальную Политику Российских Регионов В Координатах «Затраты — Результат»]," Ekonomicheskaya Politika / Economic Policy, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, vol. 5, pages 128-149, October.
    5. Isabel Narbón-Perpiñá & Kristof De Witte, 2016. "Local governments’ efficiency: A systematic literature review – Part I," Working Papers 2016/20, Economics Department, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón (Spain).
    6. Francesco Aiello & Graziella Bonanno & Luigi Capristo, 2017. "Explaining Differences In Efficiency: The Case Of Local Government Literature," Working Papers 201704, Università della Calabria, Dipartimento di Economia, Statistica e Finanza "Giovanni Anania" - DESF.

    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. Geys, Benny & Heinemann, Friedrich & Kalb, Alexander, 2010. "Voter involvement, fiscal autonomy and public sector efficiency: Evidence from German municipalities," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 265-278, June.
    2. Geys, Benny & Moesen, Wim, 2008. "Exploring sources of local government technical inefficiency: evidence from Flemish municipalities [Ursachenforschung zur technischen Ineffizienz kommunaler Verwaltungen: Evidenz von flämischen Gem," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Market Processes and Governance SP II 2008-18, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    3. Geys, Benny, 2006. "Looking across borders: A test of spatial policy interdependence using local government efficiency ratings," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(3), pages 443-462, November.
    4. Florian Dorn, 2021. "Elections and Government Efficiency," ifo Working Paper Series 363, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    5. Enrique J. Buch‐Gómez & Roberto Cabaleiro‐Casal, 2020. "Turnout, political strength, and cost efficiency in Spanish municipalities of the autonomous region of Galicia: Evidence from an alternative stochastic frontier approach," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 99(3), pages 533-553, June.
    6. Geys, Benny & Heinemann, Friedrich & Kalb, Alexander, 2007. "Local Governments in the Wake of Demographic Change: Efficiency and Economies of Scale in German Municipalities," ZEW Discussion Papers 07-036, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    7. Kalb, Alexander, 2009. "What determines local governments' technical efficiency? The case of road maintenance," ZEW Discussion Papers 09-047, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    8. Balaguer-Coll, Maria Teresa & Prior, Diego & Tortosa-Ausina, Emili, 2007. "On the determinants of local government performance: A two-stage nonparametric approach," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(2), pages 425-451, February.
    9. Luis R. Murillo‐Zamorano, 2004. "Economic Efficiency and Frontier Techniques," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(1), pages 33-77, February.
    10. D'Inverno, Giovanna & Carosi, Laura & Ravagli, Letizia, 2018. "Global public spending efficiency in Tuscan municipalities," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 102-113.
    11. Bönisch, Peter & Haug, Peter & Illy, Annette & Schreier, Lukas, 2011. "Municipality Size and Efficiency of Local Public Services: Does Size Matter?," IWH Discussion Papers 18/2011, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    12. J. Cummins & Hongmin Zi, 1998. "Comparison of Frontier Efficiency Methods: An Application to the U.S. Life Insurance Industry," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 10(2), pages 131-152, October.
    13. Villani, Salvatore, 2010. "Elementi ai fini della definizione della nozione di costo standard: una rassegna della letteratura e delle principali esperienze estere [Basic elements defining the standard cost concept. A survey ," MPRA Paper 29683, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Lenka Š astná & Martin Gregor, 2011. "Local Government Efficiency: Evidence from the Czech Municipalities," Working Papers IES 2011/14, Charles University Prague, Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Economic Studies, revised May 2011.
    15. Lars-Erik Borge & Torberg Falch & Per Tovmo, 2008. "Public sector efficiency: the roles of political and budgetary institutions, fiscal capacity, and democratic participation," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 136(3), pages 475-495, September.
    16. Isabel Narbón-Perpiñá & Kristof De Witte, 2016. "Local governments’ efficiency: A systematic literature review – Part I," Working Papers 2016/20, Economics Department, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón (Spain).
    17. Francesco Aiello & Graziella Bonanno, 2019. "Explaining Differences In Efficiency: A Meta‐Study On Local Government Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3), pages 999-1027, July.
    18. Alexander Kalb, 2014. "What Determines Local Governments' Cost-efficiency? The Case of Road Maintenance," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(9), pages 1483-1498, September.
    19. lo Storto, Corrado, 2020. "Performance evaluation of social service provision in Italian major municipalities using Network Data Envelopment Analysis," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    20. Villani, Salvatore, 2010. "Per un giusto equilibrio tra efficacia ed efficienza nell’attuazione della legge delega sul federalismo fiscale: verso la definizione dei LEP e dei costi standard delle Regioni," MPRA Paper 29513, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    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:zbw:wzbmpg:200821. 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: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/mpswzde.html .

    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.