Fixed and Random Effects in Stochastic Frontier Models
45 Pages Posted: 31 Oct 2008
Date Written: October 2002
Abstract
Received analyses based on stochastic frontier modeling with panel data have relied primarily on results from traditional linear fixed and random effects models. This paper examines extensions of these models that circumvent two important shortcomings of the existing fixed and random effects approaches. The conventional panel data stochastic frontier estimators both assume that technical or cost inefficiency is time invariant. In a lengthy panel, this is likely to be a particularly strong assumption. Second, as conventionally formulated, the fixed and random effects estimators force any time invariant cross unit heterogeneity into the same term that is being used to capture the inefficiency. Thus, measures of inefficiency in these models may be picking up heterogeneity in addition to or even instead of technical or cost inefficiency. In this paper, a true fixed effects model is extended to the stochastic frontier model using results that specifically employ the nonlinear specification. The random effects model is reformulated as a special case of the random parameters model that retains the fundamental structure of the stochastic frontier model. The techniques are illustrated through two applications, a large panel from the U.S. banking industry and a cross country comparison of the efficiency of health care delivery.
Keywords: Panel data, fixed effects, random effects, random parameters, computation, Monte Carlo, maximum simulated likelihood, technical efficiency, stochastic frontier
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?
Recommended Papers
-
The Behavior of the Fixed Effects Estimator in Nonlinear Models,
-
The Revenues-Expenditures Nexus: Evidence from Local Government Data
By Douglas Holtz-eakin, Whitney K. Newey, ...