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Abstract:
The paper examines the macroeconomic performance of 25 transition economies using a comparable dataset. In order to see whether the transition to the market based economy increased economic efficiency, technical progress, and total factor productivity, we estimate efficiency measures for the East European, Baltic, and other former Soviet Union Countries using the stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) and the data envelopment analysis (DEA) as a confirmatory analysis. According to the SFA estimates, the average annual efficiency level for the 25 transition economies is 0.548 and the average annual rate of growth in technical efficiency is 1.8 percent over the 1991-2000 period. The average annual technical change in transition economies is -4.3 percent over the period examined. That is, there is no technological progress, but over the whole period there has been a technological regress. The sum of the rate of change in technical efficiency and technical change implies a 2.5 percent decline in the average annual total factor productivity. These results suggest that, on average, chance in technical efficiency is outweighed by the technical regress.

Technical efficiency, total factor productivity, transition economies, convergence, stochastic production frontiers, data envelopment analysis

Abstract:
This paper estimates the total factor productivity (TFP) change of the private and public sectors in the Turkish manufacturing industry in the selected provinces for 1990-98. It uses data envelopment analysis to compute Malmquist productivity indices decomposed into two components, namely efficiency change and technical change. The results show that many of the provinces show improvement in TFP on average for the public sector, while in the private sector. only half the provinces show growth in TFP. Overall evidence of catching up can be observed only in the private sector. The results also reveal that technical progress plays the main role in productivity growth.

Total factor productivity, data envelopment analysis, Malmquist productivity index, Turkish manufacturing industry, private and public sectors, regional performance

Abstract:
This article investigates the impact of public capital formation on private manufacturing sector performance in the seven geographical regions of Turkey and in aggregate. A vector autoregression (VAR) model has been employed to estimate long ran accumulated elasticities of private sector variables with respect to public capital for the period 1980-2000. The results show that public capital affects private output positively in aggregate and in all regions apart from the Black Sea and Mediterranean regions. The results also reveal that only in the Marmara region, the impact is positive both on input and output. The public capital crowds in private sector inputs in some regions.

Regional development, public capital, vector autoregression, Turkish manufacturing industry

Abstract:
This paper measures technical efficiency and technical and total factor productivity changes by estimating a translog stochastic frontier production function for the Turkish manufacturing industry in selected provinces. This method incorporates technical change and has time-varying technical efficiency effects. The stochastic frontier function was estimated by using panel data based on eighteen selected provinces of Turkey for the 1990-98 period The performance of the public and private sector manufacturing industries in these provinces was also measured separately. The probable reasons of different performances of provinces in terms of efficiency are discussed. In this context, the effects of average firm size, the share of regional production, and the time period were considered.

stochastic production frontiers, technical change, technical efficiency, total factor productivity