In this paper we use data from the years 1997–2003 to evaluate the size efficiency, as distinct from scale efficiency, of Indian banks. Following Maindiratta [Maindiratta A (1990) J Econ 46:39–56] we consider a bank to be “too large” if breaking it up into a number of smaller units would...

The dual cost function is partially super-additive when an output quantity bundle of a given quality can be produced at a lower cost by breaking up the output into a number of smaller bundles of the same quality to be produced by several firms instead of the entire bundle being produced by a...

Varian's Weak Axiom of Cost Minimization provides a nonparametric test of cost minimization, which can be applied only when both input price and quantity data are available for individual firms. In this paper we propose a Weak Axiom of Cost Dominance (WACD), which serves as the basis of an...

In parametric analysis based on a frontier production function, usually the scale elasticity rather than scale efficiency level is reported. In this paper we show how one can use an estimated translog production function to obtain output- and input-oriented measures of scale efficiency at an...

In nonparametric analysis of production efficiency, the focus of attention is typically on the individual firm. In this article, we evaluate efficiency in resource utilization at the industry level. We propose an integer programming model to measure the extent of input saving possible if the...

Over the past decades Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) has emerged as an important nonparametric method of evaluating performance of decision making units through benchmarking. Although developed primarily for measuring technical efficiency, DEA is now applied extensively for measuring scale...

In the present study we evaluate the overall cost efficiency of a network of branches of a single large public sector bank in India within the city of Calcutta using the data for the year 2012. Our objective is to determine the optimal number of branches within a postal district that could...

The extent to which Indian organized manufacturing performance changed after the Economic Reform of 1991 has been an important question among empirical analysts. Using input-output data from the Annual Survey of Industries for the period 1970-71 through 2007-08, this paper compares the pre- and...

An economic measure of scale efficiency is the ratio of the minimum average cost to the average cost at the actual output level of a firm. It is easily measured by the ratio of the total cost of this output under the constant and variable returns to scale assumptions. This procedure does not...

Firms within a state, states within a country, and countries across the world are continuously striving to enhance their competitiveness in the present age of globalization. This paper defines competitiveness of a production unit as the relative cost of production per unit of output. Basic...