In this paper we compare two flexible estimators of technical efficiency in a cross-sectional setting: the nonparametric kernel SFA estimator of Fan, Li and Weersink (1996) to the nonparametric bias corrected DEA estimator of Kneip, Simar and Wilson (2008). We assess the finite sample...

We used advances in data envelopment analysis (DEA) techniques to examine efficiency scores and investigate the issue of convergence and divergence in a cross-country analysis. Specifically, we used bootstrapping techniques to examine a data set of 52 developed and developing countries. We found...

We use nonparametric production-frontier methods to decompose the growth of labor productivity of Chinese provinces in the post-reform period. These techniques, combined with kernel density estimates, allow us to decompose the shift in the distribution of labor productivity without the need for...