Eco-efficiency estimation with quantile stochastic frontiers: Evidence from the United States.

This paper based on quantile stochastic frontier framework constructs quantile eco-efficiency measures. Using the estimates from the quantile stochastic frontier, the eco-performance of the U.S. states for nitrogen oxides (NOX), carbon dioxide (CO2), and sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions is evaluated. A decoupling analysis involving the evaluation of the nonsynchronous change among states' economic output and environmental degradation levels is also performed. The findings suggest that U.S. states have followed a decoupling process among their GDP and emission levels over the period 1990-2017. In addition, a quantile eco-productivity change estimator is presented alongside with its main components (i.e. quantile eco-technical change and quantile eco-efficiency change). Our findings suggest that over the examined period states' eco-productivity levels have been improved driven both from their eco-technical and eco-efficiency change levels.

A conditional nonparametric analysis for measuring the efficiency of regional public healthcare delivery: an application to Greek prefectures.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to measure the Greek public healthcare delivery efficiency from a regional perspective by applying conditional nonparametric models. METHODS: The study reviews the existing literature on performance measurement and proposes models on these grounds. By using data envelopment analysis (DEA) and free disposal hull (FDH) models, the performance of public health delivery services of the Greek prefectures is evaluated. The efficiency levels of the Greek prefectures are compared and analyzed in a regional context. By using convex and non-convex models alongside with bootstrap techniques and conditional full frontier applications the paper develops models for regional public health delivery policy evaluation. RESULTS: The paper shows that higher levels of GDP per capita (GDPc) have a negative influence on the efficiency of regional healthcare delivery, indicating that regional economic growth does not ensure better healthcare delivery service. Furthermore the results reveal that population density increases the prefectures' efficiency of public health provision, indicating the over-supply of health services by urban hospitals. Finally, several healthcare delivery inefficiencies have been reported among the Greek prefectures emphasizing a poor state of healthcare delivery. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that after the reform of the Greek national healthcare system in 2000-2002, the absence of a unified healthcare policy was accompanied with misallocation of healthcare resources among the Greek prefectures creating socioeconomic health inequalities.