We analyse the effects of rainfall and temperature on yields of paddy and millets (pearl millet and sorghum) in India for the period 1966–1999, at the district level. Unlike other studies, we control for fertiliser use and irrigation. We find that paddy (India's leading food crop) is sensitive...

This paper estimates the impact of climate change on foodgrain yields in India, namely riceand millets. We estimate a crop-specific agricultural production function with exogenous climate variables, namely, precipitation and temperature and control for key inputs such as irrigation, fertilizer...

In Switzerland 60% of electricity is produced by hydropower plants. The construction and operation of these plants determine some negative environmental externalities, such as diminishing groundwater levels and spring flows, and a reduction in river flow, which can severely curtail recreational...

This paper examines the productive efficiency of the hospital sector in Switzerland. A panel data of 214 general hospitals over the four-year period between 1998 and 2001 has been analyzed. A descriptive analysis of the data casts some light on differences across hospital types especially...

This paper analyses the impact of electromagnetic pollution, noise and air pollution on the rent level for the aggregated and disaggregated market in the city of Zurich, Switzerland. Although there is no conclusive assessment about the health impacts of electromagnetic radiation people are...

The paper examines costs in the Swiss nursing home industry, an issue of concern to Swiss policy makers because of the explosion of elderly care costs and the ageing of the population. The paper considers estimation of a translog cost function employing panel data for a sample of 36 nonprofit...

This article seeks to explain local variations in the use of antibiotics in the community and to assess the welfare loss due to heterogeneous attitudes towards the risk of bacterial resistance. Quarterly data on antibiotic sales from 240 small areas in Switzerland over the course of one year are...

This paper applies a number of stochastic cost frontier models to a panel data set and compares their ability to distinguish unobserved heterogeneity from inefficiency variation among firms. The main focus is on Greene's 2005 panel data model that incorporates firm-specific effects in a...

The study considers the estimation of a translog cost function employing panel data for a sample of 43 Swiss hydropower companies, over the period of 1995 to 2002. The results of this analysis indicate the existence of economies of scale and density for most output levels. The basic novelty in...