Efficiency in the Manufacturing Industry of Selected Provinces in Turkey : A Stochastic Frontier Analysis

This paper measures technical efficiency and technical and total factor productivity changes by estimating a translog stochastic frontier production function for the Turkish manufacturing industry in selected provinces. This method incorporates technical change and has time-varying technical efficiency effects. The stochastic frontier function was estimated by using panel data based on eighteen selected provinces of Turkey for the 1990-98 period. The performance of the public and private sector manufacturing industries in these provinces was also measured separately. The probable reasons of different performances of provinces in terms of efficiency are discussed. In this context, the effects of average firm size, the share of regional production, and the time period were considered.