Milk Production Function and Resource use Efficiency in Rajasthan

The study was undertaken in Rajasthan with the objective to examine the input-output relationships and assess the resource use efficiency in milk production. The study covered 60 dairy households. The results of Cobb-Douglas production function revealed that concentrate had positive and significant influence on returns from buffalo, crossbred cow and local cow milk. Green fodder and labour were also significantly influenced the returns from buffalo, crossbred and local cow. The results of resource use efficiency and marginal value productivity of inputs indicated that inputs were not optimally utilized by dairy households. The green fodder, dry fodder, concentrate and labour in buffalo, concentrate and labour crossbred cow milk production and green fodder in local cow milk production were found to be over utilized in study area resulting higher per litre cost of milk production on these species.

Research on Regional Differences of Technical Efficiency under Medical and Health System in China / 中国卫生经济

Objective:To study on regional differences of technical efficiency under medical and health system in China, and analyze on the influence factors of technical efficiency. Methods: Based on the provincial panel data from 2002 to 2011, the stochastic frontier production function of healthcare system was established for empirical analysis. Results and Conclusion: Overall, the average technical efficiency of medical and health system in China presented an increasing tendency, however, a significant difference was found in regional efficiency. The non-efficiency of medical and health system in different areas could be reduced by the proportion of tertiary hospitals in all medical institutions, the ratio of profit-making medical institutions in all medical institutions and the population density;while the influences of highway density and per capital education year on technical efficiency in different areas are different.

Policy Implications of Droughts and Floods Adaptation on Household Crop Production and Food Security in Southern Malawi.

Aims: This paper quantified the contribution of drought and flood related adaptation strategies on household food production and food security. Place and Duration of Study: It was conducted in lowland and highland areas of southern Malawi and data was collected from randomly sampled households using a semi-structured questionnaire. Methodology: The paper employed a Translog production function and a Tobit model to determine the effects of drought and flood related adaptation strategies on food production and food security. About 1000 households were randomly selected to participate in the household survey. Fifty percent of the respondents were from lowland areas while the remaining 50% was from highland areas of Southern Malawi. Results: Results show that households in the study area adapted through irrigation farming, income-generating activities, crop diversification and shifting planting dates. Irrigation farming significantly increased food production by 8% and 6% and improved food availability by 24% and 19% in low and highland areas, respectively (p<0.05). On the other hand, shifting crop-planting dates reduced food production by 24% and 37% and food availability by 20% and 11% at 5% level of significance in low and highland areas, respectively. Conclusion: This paper concluded that adaptation strategies have very interesting and significant policy implications on household crop production and food security. It is therefore suggested that decisions by policy/decision makers on household food production and availability should strive at mainstreaming droughts and floods related adaptation.

Viabilidade técnica e econômica da aplicação de água na cultura do feijoeiro comum (Phaseolus Vulgaris L. ) / Technical and economic viability of the application of water on the culture of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L. )

Este experimento foi conduzido no campus II do Centro Universitário de Patos de Minas (UNIPAM) em Patos de Minas, MG, durante o ano de 2005, e objetivou-se avaliar o rendimento do feijoeiro comum-cultivar Talismã submetida a diferentes níveis de reposição da água de irrigação, determinar a lâmina ótima econômica e a época de suspensão da irrigação para a cultura. Os tratamentos constaram de 5 níveis de reposição de água no solo (40%, 70%, 100%, 130% e 160%), em função da lâmina para elevá-lo diariamente à capacidade de campo e 3 épocas de suspensão da irrigação (0, 7 e 14 dias após atingir o estádio R9 do ciclo cultural – modificação da cor das vagens, maturidade fisiológica das plantas). Utilizou-se para a irrigação um sistema por microaspersão. O delineamento experimental foi um DBC (blocos casualizados) em esquema fatorial de 5x3 com 4 blocos. Foram avaliadas a produtividade da culturae as lâminas ótima física e econômica. A produtividade da cultura foi afetada pelos níveis de reposição de água no solo (houve aumento da produtividade até reposição de 100% com posterior queda) e pelas épocas de suspensão da irrigação exceto na reposição de 100%.As lâminas e produtividades que proporcionaram a máxima eficiência econômica foram 589,97 mm e 3205,76 kg ha-1 (R9), 535,72 mm e 2874,26 kg ha-1 (R9+7) e 575,84 mm e 3242,73 kg ha-1 (R9+14).

This experiment was carried out at campus II of Patos de Minas University Center (Centro Universitário de Patos de Minas (UNIPAM) in Patos de Minas, MG, during the year of 2005, with the purpose of evaluating the yield of the common bean plant, cultivar Talismã, submitted to different levels of irrigation water replacement, as well as determining the optimum economic water height and the time to withhold the irrigation. The treatments consisted of five levels of water replacement in soil (40%, 70%, 100%, 130%, and 160%) as a function of daily raising the height to the field capacity and three periods of irrigation withholding (0, 7, and 14 days after reaching the R9 stage of the cropping cycle). A microsprinkling system was used for irrigation. The experimental design was a RBD (randomized blocks) with a factorial scheme of 5x3 with four blocks. The crop yield and the physical and economicoptimum heights were evaluated. The crop yield was affected by the levels of water replacement in the soil (there was an increase of yield up to 100% replacement with further decrease) and by the time of irrigation withholding except in the replacement of 100%. Thewater heights and yields, which afforded the maximum economic efficiency, were 589.97 mm and 3205.76 kg ha-1 (R9), 535.72 mm and 2874.26 kg ha- (R9+7) and 575,84 mm and 3242.73 kg ha-1 (R9+14).

A positive analysis of China's health resources based on the Cobb-Douglas production function / 中华医院管理杂志

Health resources allocation, the cornerstone of health production capability, includes effective allocation of increments and rational readjustment of stocks. Using the least square method and variance analysis, the authors created a multilinear regression model on the basis of the calculation method and analysis principle of the Cobb-Douglas production function and in light of historical data in China's health sector and made a positive analysis of the current state of health resources allocation in China The result indicates that the input in health human resources has been insufficient and their contribution to production has been on the moderate side. Moreover, health resources allocation has shown decreasing return to scale on the whole.

An analysis of the physician productivity in general hospitals / 예방의학회지

The purpose of this paper is to identify factors affecting the optimum mix of required inputs and other relevant factors which account for the variation in physician's productivity in general hospitals, and to find out their implications for the efficient health planning and management. An extended version of Cobb-Douglas production function and cross sectional data of one day patient census from all general hospitals in Korea in 1988 were used in the analysis. Main results of the analysis and their implications could be summarized as follows ; (1) The production function for physician's inpatient service shows the evidence of economies of scale, but the production function for physician's outpatient and adjusted-patient service, which combines both out- and inpatient service, shows that of dis-economies of scale. (2) The physician's role for production for all service is smaller than auxiliary personnel's, which imply that more intensive utilization of nurses, nursing aides and other auxiliary personnel is desirable for improving general hospital productivity. (3) In case of physician's inpatient and adjusted-patient service, nurses is recommended for the efficient operation of general hospitals. (4) The factor of hospital beds plays the leading role among required inputs in the production for physician's in- and adjusted-patient service. (5) The physician's productivity of general hospitals in rural area is lower than that in urban area. And the productivity of teaching hospitals is lower than that of the other hospitals. Further analysis was made in physician production function based upon the size of hospitals, namely those hospitals below 250 beds and those above. Explained variances by the factor of hospital beds was significantly increased in the case of those hospitals above 250. A more detailed and thorough investigation is needed for verifying factors influencing physician's productivity in general hospitals in Korea.