IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/journl/hal-04548513.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Does productivity change at all in Swedish district courts? Empirical analysis focusing on horizontal mergers

Author

Listed:
  • Xiaoqing Chen

    (School of Management Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing)

  • Kristiaan Kerstens

    (LEM - Lille économie management - UMR 9221 - UA - Université d'Artois - UCL - Université catholique de Lille - Université de Lille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Mike Tsionas

    (Montpellier Business School)

Abstract

This contribution is the first to compare the Malmquist and Hicks-Moorsteen productivity indices in the context of horizontal mergers of Swedish district courts during the period 2000-2017. It is also the first to calculate these productivity indices for convex and nonconvex nonparametric frontier specifications in courts under both constant and variable returns to scale. Moreover, a one-sample symmetric Wilcoxon test and a t-test are performed on the average productivity index to determine whether it is significantly different from unity. Also Li-test statistics examine the differences in productivity between these two indices or between convexity and nonconvexity for a given index. Furthermore, we compare these two productivity indices before and after the mergers to investigate the impact of the horizontal merger activity. The empirical results indicate that overall there is no significant technical change at all. Furthermore, horizontal mergers overall do neither result in technical change, nor in post-merger productivity gains.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiaoqing Chen & Kristiaan Kerstens & Mike Tsionas, 2024. "Does productivity change at all in Swedish district courts? Empirical analysis focusing on horizontal mergers," Post-Print hal-04548513, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04548513
    DOI: 10.1016/j.seps.2023.101787
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    To our knowledge, this item is not available for download. To find whether it is available, there are three options:
    1. Check below whether another version of this item is available online.
    2. Check on the provider's web page whether it is in fact available.
    3. Perform a search for a similarly titled item that would be available.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jose Zofio, 2007. "Malmquist productivity index decompositions: a unifying framework," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(18), pages 2371-2387.
    2. Farrell, Joseph & Shapiro, Carl, 1990. "Horizontal Mergers: An Equilibrium Analysis," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(1), pages 107-126, March.
    3. Cummins, J. David & Tennyson, Sharon & Weiss, Mary A., 1999. "Consolidation and efficiency in the US life insurance industry," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 23(2-4), pages 325-357, February.
    4. Oliver Budzinski & Isabel Ruhmer, 2010. "Merger Simulation In Competition Policy: A Survey," Journal of Competition Law and Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 6(2), pages 277-319.
    5. Leopold Simar & Valentin Zelenyuk, 2006. "On Testing Equality of Distributions of Technical Efficiency Scores," Econometric Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(4), pages 497-522.
    6. Monastyrenko, Evgenii, 2017. "Eco-efficiency outcomes of mergers and acquisitions in the European electricity industry," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 258-277.
    7. Jonas Månsson & Christian Andersson & Fredrik Bonander, 2022. "What lessons can be learned from cost efficiency? The case of Swedish district courts," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 54(3), pages 431-451, December.
    8. Troels Kristensen & Peter Bogetoft & Kjeld Pedersen, 2010. "Potential gains from hospital mergers in Denmark," Health Care Management Science, Springer, vol. 13(4), pages 334-345, December.
    9. Walter Briec & Kristiaan Kerstens & Philippe Venden Eeckaut, 2004. "Non-convex Technologies and Cost Functions: Definitions, Duality and Nonparametric Tests of Convexity," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 81(2), pages 155-192, February.
    10. Shawna Grosskopf, 2003. "Some Remarks on Productivity and its Decompositions," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 459-474, November.
    11. Walter Briec & Kristiaan Kerstens & Ignace Van de Woestyne, 2022. "Nonconvexity in Production and Cost Functions: An Exploratory and Selective Review," Springer Books, in: Subhash C. Ray & Robert G. Chambers & Subal C. Kumbhakar (ed.), Handbook of Production Economics, chapter 18, pages 721-754, Springer.
    12. Ferris, J Stephen & West, Edwin G, 1996. "The Cost Disease and Government Growth: Qualifications to Baumol," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 89(1-2), pages 35-52, October.
    13. Massimo Finocchiaro Castro & Calogero Guccio, 2014. "Searching for the source of technical inefficiency in Italian judicial districts: an empirical investigation," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 38(3), pages 369-391, December.
    14. W. Briec & K. Kerstens, 2009. "Infeasibility and Directional Distance Functions with Application to the Determinateness of the Luenberger Productivity Indicator," Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications, Springer, vol. 141(1), pages 55-73, April.
    15. repec:bla:scandj:v:98:y:1996:i:2:p:303-13 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Giacalone, Massimiliano & Nissi, Eugenia & Cusatelli, Carlo, 2020. "Dynamic efficiency evaluation of Italian judicial system using DEA based Malmquist productivity indexes," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    17. Cesaroni, Giovanni & Kerstens, Kristiaan & Van de Woestyne, Ignace, 2017. "Global and local scale characteristics in convex and nonconvex nonparametric technologies: A first empirical exploration," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 259(2), pages 576-586.
    18. M. J. Farrell, 1959. "The Convexity Assumption in the Theory of Competitive Markets," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 67(4), pages 377-377.
    19. Kristiaan Kerstens & Ignace Van de Woestyne, 2021. "Cost functions are nonconvex in the outputs when the technology is nonconvex: convexification is not harmless," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 305(1), pages 81-106, October.
    20. Pontus Mattsson & Jonas Månsson & Christian Andersson & Fredrik Bonander, 2018. "A bootstrapped Malmquist index applied to Swedish district courts," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 109-139, August.
    21. Jacobsen, S E, 1970. "Production Correspondences," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 38(5), pages 754-771, September.
    22. Fare, Rolf & Shawna Grosskopf & Mary Norris & Zhongyang Zhang, 1994. "Productivity Growth, Technical Progress, and Efficiency Change in Industrialized Countries," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(1), pages 66-83, March.
    23. Simar, Leopold & Wilson, Paul W., 1999. "Estimating and bootstrapping Malmquist indices," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 115(3), pages 459-471, June.
    24. Caves, Richard E., 2007. "In praise of the Old I.O," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 1-12, February.
    25. Kerstens, Kristiaan & Van de Woestyne, Ignace, 2014. "Comparing Malmquist and Hicks–Moorsteen productivity indices: Exploring the impact of unbalanced vs. balanced panel data," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 233(3), pages 749-758.
    26. Arocena, Pablo & Saal, David S. & Urakami, Takuya & Zschille, Michael, 2020. "Measuring and decomposing productivity change in the presence of mergers," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 282(1), pages 319-333.
    27. Frederic Ang & Kristiaan Kerstens & Jafar Sadeghi, 2023. "Energy productivity and greenhouse gas emission intensity in Dutch dairy farms: A Hicks–Moorsteen by‐production approach under non‐convexity and convexity with equivalence results," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 74(2), pages 492-509, June.
    28. Stefan Voigt, 2016. "Determinants of judicial efficiency: a survey," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 42(2), pages 183-208, October.
    29. Dominique Deprins & Léopold Simar & Henry Tulkens, 2006. "Measuring Labor-Efficiency in Post Offices," Springer Books, in: Parkash Chander & Jacques Drèze & C. Knox Lovell & Jack Mintz (ed.), Public goods, environmental externalities and fiscal competition, chapter 0, pages 285-309, Springer.
    30. Beatriz Tovar & Ramos-Real & Fagundes de Almeida, 2015. "Efficiency and performance in gas distribution. Evidence from Brazil," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(50), pages 5390-5406, October.
    31. Baumol, William J & Blackman, Sue Anne Batey & Wolff, Edward N, 1985. "Unbalanced Growth Revisited: Asymptotic Stagnancy and New Evidence," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 75(4), pages 806-817, September.
    32. Diewert, W. Erwin & Fox, Kevin J., 2017. "Decomposing productivity indexes into explanatory factors," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 256(1), pages 275-291.
    33. Caves, Douglas W & Christensen, Laurits R & Diewert, W Erwin, 1982. "The Economic Theory of Index Numbers and the Measurement of Input, Output, and Productivity," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 50(6), pages 1393-1414, November.
    34. Hideyuki Mizobuchi, 2017. "Productivity indexes under Hicks neutral technical change," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 48(1), pages 63-68, August.
    35. Frederick van der Ploeg, 2007. "Sustainable Social Spending and Stagnant Public Services: Baumol's Cost Disease Revisited," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 63(4), pages 519-547, December.
    36. Peter Bogetoft & Dexiang Wang, 2005. "Estimating the Potential Gains from Mergers," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 145-171, May.
    37. Per J. Agrell & Pontus Mattsson & Jonas Månsson, 2020. "Impacts on efficiency of merging the Swedish district courts," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 288(2), pages 653-679, May.
    38. Michael Gorman & John Ruggiero, 2009. "Evaluating U.S. judicial district prosecutor performance using DEA: are disadvantaged counties more inefficient?," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 27(3), pages 275-283, June.
    39. Laurence Capron, 1999. "The long‐term performance of horizontal acquisitions," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(11), pages 987-1018, November.
    40. Jan De Loecker & Jan Eeckhout & Gabriel Unger, 2020. "The Rise of Market Power and the Macroeconomic Implications [“Econometric Tools for Analyzing Market Outcomes”]," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 135(2), pages 561-644.
    41. Massimo Finocchiaro Castro & Calogero Guccio, 2018. "Measuring Potential Efficiency Gains from Mergers of Italian First Instance Courts through Nonparametric Model," Public Finance Review, , vol. 46(1), pages 83-116, January.
    42. Walter Briec & K. Kerstens, 2009. "Infeasibilities and directional distance functions: with application to the determinateness of the luenberger productivity indicator," Post-Print hal-00372560, HAL.
    43. Mattsson, Pontus & Tidanå, Claes, 2019. "Potential efficiency effects of merging the Swedish district courts," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 58-68.
    44. Nishimizu, Mieko & Page, John M, Jr, 1982. "Total Factor Productivity Growth, Technological Progress and Technical Efficiency Change: Dimensions of Productivity Change in Yugoslavia, 1965-78," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 92(368), pages 920-936, December.
    45. Li, Qi & Maasoumi, Esfandiar & Racine, Jeffrey S., 2009. "A nonparametric test for equality of distributions with mixed categorical and continuous data," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 148(2), pages 186-200, February.
    46. Gisele Msann & Wadad Saad, 2020. "Assessment of public sector performance in the MENA region: data envelopment approach," International Review of Public Administration, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(1), pages 1-21, January.
    47. Pontus Mattsson & Jonas Månsson & Christian Andersson & Fredrik Bonander, 2018. "Correction to: A bootstrapped Malmquist index applied to Swedish district courts," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 141-142, August.
    48. J Harris & H Ozgen & Y Ozcan, 2000. "Do mergers enhance the performance of hospital efficiency?," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 51(7), pages 801-811, July.
    49. Victor M. Giménez & Diego Prior, 2007. "Long- and Short-Term Cost Efficiency Frontier Evaluation: Evidence from Spanish Local Governments," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 28(1), pages 121-139, March.
    50. W. Kip Viscusi & Joseph E. Harrington & John M. Vernon, 2005. "Economics of Regulation and Antitrust, 4th Edition," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 4, volume 1, number 026222075x, April.
    51. Fare, Rolf & Grosskopf, Shawna & Roos, Pontus, 1996. "On two definitions of productivity," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 53(3), pages 269-274, December.
    52. Xiaoqing Chen & Kristiaan Kerstens & Qingyuan Zhu, 2021. "Exploring Horizontal Mergers in Swedish District Courts Using Convex and Nonconvex Technologies: Usefulness of a Conservative Approach," Working Papers 2021-EQM-05, IESEG School of Management.
    53. Afsharian, Mohsen & Ahn, Heinz & Harms, Sören Guntram, 2021. "A review of DEA approaches applying a common set of weights: The perspective of centralized management," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 294(1), pages 3-15.
    54. Rezitis, Anthony N., 2008. "Efficiency and productivity effects of bank mergers: Evidence from the Greek banking industry," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 236-254, March.
    55. Falavigna, Greta & Ippoliti, Roberto & Ramello, Giovanni B., 2018. "DEA-based Malmquist productivity indexes for understanding courts reform," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 31-43.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Xiaoqing Chen & Kristiaan Kerstens & Qingyuan Zhu, 2021. "Exploring Horizontal Mergers in Swedish District Courts Using Convex and Nonconvex Technologies: Usefulness of a Conservative Approach," Working Papers 2021-EQM-05, IESEG School of Management.
    2. Xiaoqing Chen & Kristiaan Kerstens, 2022. "Evaluating horizontal mergers in Swedish district courts using plant capacity concepts: with a focus on nonconvexity," Post-Print halshs-03924994, HAL.
    3. Pontus Mattsson & Jonas Månsson & Christian Andersson & Fredrik Bonander, 2018. "A bootstrapped Malmquist index applied to Swedish district courts," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 109-139, August.
    4. Jin, Qianying & Kerstens, Kristiaan & Van de Woestyne, Ignace, 2020. "Metafrontier productivity indices: Questioning the common convexification strategy," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 283(2), pages 737-747.
    5. Mattsson, Pontus & Tidanå, Claes, 2019. "Potential efficiency effects of merging the Swedish district courts," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 58-68.
    6. Giacalone, Massimiliano & Nissi, Eugenia & Cusatelli, Carlo, 2020. "Dynamic efficiency evaluation of Italian judicial system using DEA based Malmquist productivity indexes," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    7. Per J. Agrell & Pontus Mattsson & Jonas Månsson, 2020. "Impacts on efficiency of merging the Swedish district courts," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 288(2), pages 653-679, May.
    8. Jonas Månsson & Christian Andersson & Fredrik Bonander, 2022. "What lessons can be learned from cost efficiency? The case of Swedish district courts," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 54(3), pages 431-451, December.
    9. Kerstens, Kristiaan & Van de Woestyne, Ignace, 2014. "Comparing Malmquist and Hicks–Moorsteen productivity indices: Exploring the impact of unbalanced vs. balanced panel data," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 233(3), pages 749-758.
    10. Kerstens, Kristiaan & Sadeghi, Jafar & Toloo, Mehdi & Van de Woestyne, Ignace, 2022. "Procedures for ranking technical and cost efficient units: With a focus on nonconvexity," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 300(1), pages 269-281.
    11. Briec, Walter & Kerstens, Kristiaan, 2009. "The Luenberger productivity indicator: An economic specification leading to infeasibilities," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 597-600, May.
    12. Aparicio, Juan & Santín, Daniel, 2024. "Global and local technical changes: A new decomposition of the Malmquist productivity index using virtual units," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    13. A. Abad & P. Ravelojaona, 2017. "Exponential environmental productivity index and indicators," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 48(2), pages 147-166, December.
    14. Xiaoqing Chen & Xinwang Liu, 2023. "Comparing Malmquist and Hicks–Moorsteen productivity changes in China’s high-tech industries: exploring convexity implications," Central European Journal of Operations Research, Springer;Slovak Society for Operations Research;Hungarian Operational Research Society;Czech Society for Operations Research;Österr. Gesellschaft für Operations Research (ÖGOR);Slovenian Society Informatika - Section for Operational Research;Croatian Operational Research Society, vol. 31(4), pages 1209-1237, December.
    15. Maria Teresa Balaguer-Coll & Diego Prior & Emili Tortosa-Ausina, 2010. "Devolution Dynamics of Spanish Local Government," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 42(6), pages 1476-1495, June.
    16. Hideyuki Mizobuchi, 2017. "A superlative index number formula for the Hicks-Moorsteen productivity index," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 48(2), pages 167-178, December.
    17. Gustavo Ferro & Victoria Oubiña & Carlos A. Romero, 2019. "Benchmarking Labor Courts: an Efficiency Frontier Analysis," Asociación Argentina de Economía Política: Working Papers 4140, Asociación Argentina de Economía Política.
    18. Kristiaan Kerstens & Jafar Sadeghi & Ignace Van de Woestyne & Linjia Zhang, 2022. "Malmquist productivity indices and plant capacity utilisation: new proposals and empirical application," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 315(1), pages 221-250, August.
    19. Kerstens, Kristiaan & Sadeghi, Jafar & Van de Woestyne, Ignace, 2019. "Convex and nonconvex input-oriented technical and economic capacity measures: An empirical comparison," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 276(2), pages 699-709.
    20. Frederic Ang & Kristiaan Kerstens & Jafar Sadeghi, 2023. "Energy productivity and greenhouse gas emission intensity in Dutch dairy farms: A Hicks–Moorsteen by‐production approach under non‐convexity and convexity with equivalence results," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 74(2), pages 492-509, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04548513. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.