Efficiency Measures in the Agricultural Sector With Applications [Hardcover]

The editors draw on a 3-year project that analyzed a Portuguese area in detail, comparing this study with papers from other regions. Applications include the estimation of technical efficiency in agricultural grazing systems (dairy, beef and mixed) and specifically for dairy farms. The conclusions indicate that it is now necessary to help small dairy farms in order to make them more efficient. These results can be compared with the technical efficiency of a sample of Spanish dairy processing firms presented by Magdalena Kapelko and co-authors.

Adding to our toolkit for improving agricultural efficiency, this volume shows how to deploy techniques such as data envelopment analysis and stochastic frontier analysis in crop production, opening up a fruitful new arena that could profit from these methods.

Part I Efficiency Measures and Methods?

?1 Efficiency Measures in the Agricultural Sector: The Beginning

Emiliana Silva, Armando Mendes and Jorge Santos?

?2 Review of Frontier Models and Efficiency Analysis: A Parametric Approach?

Ana Sampaio?

3 Introduction to Data Envelopment Analysis

?Jorge Santos, Elsa Ros?rio Negas and Lu?s Cavique Santos

?4 Superefficiency and Multiplier Adjustment in Data Envelopment Analysis?

?Jorge Santos, Lu?s Cavique Santos, Armando Mendes?

?Part II Farm Efficiency Applications

5 An Application of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) in Azores Dairy Farms

Emiliana Silva, Am?lcar Arzubi and Julio Berbel?

?6 Animal Grazing System Efficiency?

Emiliana Silva, Carlos Santos and Armando Mendes?

?7 Technical Efficiency of the Spanish Dairy Processing Industry: Do Size and Exporting Matter??

?Magdalena Kapelko and Alfons Oude Lansink?

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