European integration and banking efficiency: a panel cost frontier approach

The aim of this paper is to contribute to the relatively scarce published research on the relationship between European integration and banking efficiency. Estimating cost translog frontier functions for different panels of European Union countries for the time period 1994- 2008 we conclude that there is always technical inefficiency. Additionally, although country inefficiencies have decreased in recent years (2000-2008), there are no remarkable changes in the countries’ ranking positions. Our results also point to the existence of a quite slow convergence process across EU countries during the period analysed, as well as its acceleration after the establishment of the European Monetary Union.