Efficiencies of Small Financial Cooperatives in Japan: Comparison of Estimation Methods

This study investigates the efficiency of Japanese credit cooperatives using a stochastic directional distance function approach and compares the results obtained from a slack-based data envelopment analysis model (SBM). Moreover, it focuses on the differences in the four groups classified by a type of common bond in a membership and considers the validity of small financial cooperatives. The findings reveal that ethnic minority-owned cooperatives that experienced a drastic consolidation in the last two decades are more efficient than the other groups and those owned through an industry-based membership are less efficient. Although the results slightly differ among alternative measures, this paper emphasizes the potential merger effects of small financial cooperatives in Japan.