(Translated by https://www.hiragana.jp/)
Output complexity, environmental conditions, and the efficiency of municipalities: a robust metafrontier approach
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ivi/wpasec/2010-02.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Output complexity, environmental conditions, and the efficiency of municipalities: a robust metafrontier approach

Author

Listed:
  • Emili Tortosa Ausina

    (Universitat Jaume I)

  • Diego Prior Jiménez

    (Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona)

  • María Teresa Balaguer-Coll

    (Universitat Jaume I)

Abstract

Over the last few years, many studies have analyzed the productive efficiency of local governments in different countries. An accurate definition of their output bundles -i.e., the services and facilities they provide to their constituencies- is essential to this research. However, several difficulties emerge in this task. First, since in most cases the law only establishes the minimum amount of services and facilities to provide, it may well be the case that some municipalities go beyond the legal minimum and, consequently, might be labeled as inefficient when compared to other municipalities which stick to the legal minimum. Second, municipalities face very different environmental conditions, which raises some doubts about the plausibility of an unconditional analysis. This study tackles these problems by proposing a metafrontier analysis in which the efficiency of municipalities is evaluated after splitting them into clusters according to various criteria (output mix, environmental conditions, size). We perform our estimations using order-m frontiers, given their robustness to outliers and immunity to the curse of dimensionality. We provide an application to Spanish municipalities, and results show that both output mix and, more especially, environmental conditions, should be controlled for, since efficiency differences between municipalities in different groups are notable. Durante los últimos años muchos trabajos han venido analizando la eficiencia productiva de las corporaciones locales de una gran variedad de países. Para este tipo de estudios resulta crucial una definición precisa de los servicios e infraestructuras que los municipios proporcionan a sus ciudadanos. Sin embargo, esta tarea presenta varias dificultades. En primer lugar, dado que en muchas circunstancias la ley únicamente establece los servicios mínimos que debe proporcionar un municipio, puede darse el caso de que algunos municipios vayan más allá de este mínimo legal y, consecuentemente, sean clasificados como ineficientes al compararlos con otros municipios que se ciñen al mínimo. En segundo lugar, las corporaciones locales operan en condiciones ambientales muy dispares, lo cual genera dudas acerca de la factibilidad de un análisis incondicional. Este trabajo aborda estas cuestiones proponiendo un análisis metafrontera en el que la eficiencia de las corporaciones locales se evalúa tras clasificarlas en distintos grupos de acuerdo con criterios múltiples (output mix, condiciones ambientales, tamaño). Las estimaciones son llevadas a cabo utilizando fronteras orden-m, debido a la robustez que presentan frente a observaciones atípicas y la inmunidad a la ¿maldición de la dimensionalidad¿ (curse of dimensionality). Llevamos a cabo una aplicación a los municipios españoles, y los resultados indican que tanto el output mix como, sobre todo, las condiciones ambientales, deberían ser tenidas en cuenta al evaluar la eficiencia, pues las diferencias en la eficiencia de los municipios en los distintos grupos son notables.

Suggested Citation

  • Emili Tortosa Ausina & Diego Prior Jiménez & María Teresa Balaguer-Coll, 2010. "Output complexity, environmental conditions, and the efficiency of municipalities: a robust metafrontier approach," Working Papers. Serie EC 2010-02, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas, S.A. (Ivie).
    • Handle: RePEc:ivi:wpasec:2010-02
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.ivie.es/downloads/docs/wpasec/wpasec-2010-02.pdf
    File Function: Fisrt version / Primera version, 2010
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Francisco José Goerlich Gisbert & Rafael Pinilla Pallejà, 2009. "Esperanzas de vida libres de discapacidad por sexo y comunidad autónoma: 2004-2006," Working Papers. Serie EC 2009-13, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas, S.A. (Ivie).
    2. 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.
    3. Maria Sousa & Borko Stošić, 2005. "Technical Efficiency of the Brazilian Municipalities: Correcting Nonparametric Frontier Measurements for Outliers," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 157-181, October.
    4. Maria Teresa Balaguer-Coll & Diego Prior & Emili Tortosa-Ausina, 2010. "Devolution Dynamics of Spanish Local Government," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 42(6), pages 1476-1495, June.
    5. 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.
    6. Cj O'Donnell & G Van Der Westhuizen, 2002. "Regional Comparisons of Banking Performance in South Africa*1," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 70(3), pages 224-240, March.
    7. 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.
    8. Miriam Hortas-Rico & Albert Solé-Ollé, 2010. "Does Urban Sprawl Increase the Costs of Providing Local Public Services? Evidence from Spanish Municipalities," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 47(7), pages 1513-1540, June.
    9. El-Mahgary, Sami & Lahdelma, Risto, 1995. "Data envelopment analysis: Visualizing the results," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 83(3), pages 700-710, June.
    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. Elena Pardo & Inés Küster Boluda & Torpong Suemanotham, 2010. "Product placement in video games as a marketing strategy: an attempt to analysis in Disney company," Working Papers. Serie EC 2010-04, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas, S.A. (Ivie).
    2. M. Teresa Sanchis Llopis & Vicente Esteve Garcia & Antonio Cubel, 2010. "International technology diffusion through patents during the second half of the XXth century," Working Papers. Serie EC 2010-10, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas, S.A. (Ivie).
    3. Nikolaos Georgantzis & Aitor Ciarreta & Carlos Gutiérrez-Hita, 2010. "Renewable sources, technology mix, and competiton in liberalized electricity markets: the case of Spain," Working Papers. Serie EC 2010-06, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas, S.A. (Ivie).
    4. De Witte, Kristof & Geys, Benny, 2013. "Citizen coproduction and efficient public good provision: Theory and evidence from local public libraries," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 224(3), pages 592-602.
    5. Asier Minondo & Francisco Requena Silvente, 2010. "Welfare gains from imported varieties in Spain, 1988-2006," Working Papers. Serie EC 2010-12, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas, S.A. (Ivie).
    6. Ginés Hernández Cánovas & María Camino Ramón Llorens, 2010. "Venture capitalists in Spain: cluster analysis of criteria used in the screening process," Working Papers. Serie EC 2010-08, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas, S.A. (Ivie).
    7. Francisco Mas Ruiz & Juan Luis Nicolau Gonzálbez, 2010. "Contribution of individual to collective brands," Working Papers. Serie EC 2010-07, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas, S.A. (Ivie).
    8. Ángel Pardo Tornero & María Dolores Furió Ortega, 2010. "Politics and elections at the Spanish stock exchange," Working Papers. Serie EC 2010-11, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas, S.A. (Ivie).
    9. Ana María Sabater & Araceli Mora & Beatriz García Osma, 2010. "Strategic accounting choice around firm level labour negotiations," Working Papers. Serie EC 2010-09, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas, S.A. (Ivie).

    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. Fernando Antonio Slaibe Postali, 2016. "Oil windfalls and X-inefficiency: evidence from Brazil," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 43(5), pages 699-718, October.
    2. Maria Teresa Balaguer-Coll & Diego Prior & Emili Tortosa-Ausina, 2010. "Devolution Dynamics of Spanish Local Government," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 42(6), pages 1476-1495, June.
    3. Isabel Narbón-Perpiñá & Maria Teresa Balaguer-Coll & Diego Prior & Emili Tortosa-Ausina, 2021. "Searching for the optimal territorial structure: the case of Spanish provincial councils," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(4), pages 645-664, April.
    4. Cordero, José Manuel & Pedraja-Chaparro, Francisco & Pisaflores, Elsa C. & Polo, Cristina, 2016. "Efficiency assessment of Portuguese municipalities using a conditional nonparametric approach," MPRA Paper 70674, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Isabel Narbón-Perpiñá & Maria Balaguer-Coll & Emili Tortosa-Ausina, 2019. "Evaluating local government performance in times of crisis," Local Government Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(1), pages 64-100, January.
    6. Caitlin T. O’Loughlin & Paul W. Wilson, 2021. "Benchmarking the performance of US Municipalities," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 60(6), pages 2665-2700, June.
    7. Laura Carosi & Giovanna D'Inverno & Letizia Ravagli, 2014. "Global public spending efficiency in Tuscan municipalities," Discussion Papers 2014/175, Dipartimento di Economia e Management (DEM), University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
    8. 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.
    9. Simona Bigerna & Paolo Polinori, 2013. "Quality of Life in Major Italian Cities: Do Local Governments Cost Efficiency Contribute to Improve Urban Life Style? An Introductory Analysis," ECONOMICS AND POLICY OF ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2013(3), pages 121-144.
    10. Emili Tortosa Ausina & Diego Prior & María Teresa Balaguer-Coll, 2006. "Decentralization And Effiency In Spanish Local Goverment," Working Papers. Serie EC 2006-02, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas, S.A. (Ivie).
    11. Bernardo Furtado, 2013. "Balancing investments in public service personnel and its healthcare provision output: an efficiency analysis for Brazilian municipalities," ERSA conference papers ersa13p1183, European Regional Science Association.
    12. 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.
    13. Thieme, Claudio & Prior, Diego & Tortosa-Ausina, Emili, 2013. "A multilevel decomposition of school performance using robust nonparametric frontier techniques," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 104-121.
    14. 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).
    15. da Cruz, Nuno Ferreira & Marques, Rui Cunha, 2014. "Revisiting the determinants of local government performance," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 91-103.
    16. 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.
    17. 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).
    18. Jose M. Cordero & Francisco Pedraja-Chaparro & Elsa C. Pisaflores & Cristina Polo, 2017. "Efficiency assessment of Portuguese municipalities using a conditional nonparametric approach," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 48(1), pages 1-24, August.
    19. Kristiaan Kerstens & Ignace Van de Woestyne, 2018. "Enumeration algorithms for FDH directional distance functions under different returns to scale assumptions," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 271(2), pages 1067-1078, December.
    20. Simar, Leopold & Wilson, Paul W., 2007. "Estimation and inference in two-stage, semi-parametric models of production processes," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 136(1), pages 31-64, January.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    eficiencia; condiciones ambientales; gobierno local; metafrontera; orden-m efficiency; environmental conditions; local government; metafrontier; order-m;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • D60 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - General
    • H71 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • H72 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Budget and Expenditures

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:ivi:wpasec:2010-02. 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: Departamento de Edición (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ievages.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.