INTER-TEMPORAL AND CROSS-SECTION VARIATIONS IN TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY IN THE INDIAN RAILWAYS

This paper uses recent advances in the theory of measurement of technical efficiency using panel data (Cornwell, Schmidt and Sickles (1990), Jha and Sahni (1992,1993a)) to estimate zone specific technical efficiency in the Indian railways for the period 1966-67 to 1988-89. The analysis covers goods as well as passenger traffic. Apart from providing an in-depth and precise profile of the behavior of technical efficiency in the Indian railways, this analysis provides a framework from which potentially significant policy conclusions can be drawn.

[1]  P. A. V. B. Swamy,et al.  Statistical Inference in Random Coefficient Regression Models , 1971 .

[2]  Raghbendra Jha,et al.  TOWARDS MEASURING AIRLINE TECHNICAL INEFFICIENCY: THE CASE OF CANADIAN AIRLINES INDUSTRY. , 1992 .

[3]  P. R. Brahmananda.  Productivity in the Indian economy : rising inputs for falling outputs , 1982 .

[4]  Raghbendra Jha,et al.  Industrial efficiency, an Indian perspective , 1993 .

[5]  P. Schmidt,et al.  Production Frontiers and Panel Data , 1984 .

[6]  Robin C. Sickles,et al.  A nonlinear multivariate error components analysis of technology and specific factor productivity growth with an application to the U.S. Airlines , 1985 .

[7]  D. Aigner,et al.  FORMULATION AND ESTIMATION OF STOCHASTIC PRODUCTION FUNCTION MODELS , 1977 .

[8]  P. Schmidt.  Frontier production functions , 1985 .

[9]  P. Schmidt,et al.  Production frontiers with cross-sectional and time-series variation in efficiency levels , 1990 .

[10]  Robin C. Sickles,et al.  Allocative distortions and the regulatory transition of the U.S. airline industry , 1986 .

[11]  C. Lovell,et al.  A survey of frontier production functions and of their relationship to efficiency measurement , 1980 .

[12]  E. Ziegel.  Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Econometrics , 1989 .

[13]  Takeshi Amemiya,et al.  Instrumental-variable estimation of an error-components model , 1986 .

[14]  D. Jorgenson,et al.  TRANSCENDENTAL LOGARITHMIC PRODUCTION FRONTIERS , 1973 .

[15]  Stephen J. Brown,et al.  The Theory of Public Utility Pricing , 1986 .

[16]  Jerry A. Hausman,et al.  Panel Data and Unobservable Individual Effects , 1981 .