Technical efficiency and institutional variables

The influence of institutional variables on the degree of technical efficiency at collecting household waste is obtained using regression involving dummy variables. The analysis concerned Swiss municipalities with more than 5,000 inhabitants. The mean degree of efficiency increases significantly (at 5%) when a municipality sub-contracts the service instead of producing it itself. The other institutional variables (intergovernmental agreement, financing mechanism, multiple service producers) has a significant influence only in small-sized municipalities.