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Abstract
A stochastic frontier production function with time-varying technical efficiencies is
estimated using panel data from ICRISAT's Village Level Studies in three Indian villages.
Given the specifications of a linearized version of a Cobb-Douglas stochastic frontier
production function with coefficients which are a linear function of time, the hypothesis that
the traditional response function is an adequate representation of the data is accepted for
only one of the three villages. The hypothesis of time-invariant technical inefficiencies is not
rejected for one of the two villages for which significant technical inefficiencies exist. The
hypothesis of time-invariant elasticities of the input variables is rejected for two of the three
villages. Further, the hypothesis that hired and family labour are equally productive is
accepted in only one of the three villages.
The technical efficiencies of individual farms exhibited considerable variation in the two
villages with either time-invariant or time-varying technical efficiencies.