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The efficiency of refuse collection services in Spanish municipalities: do non-controllable variables matter?

Author

Listed:
  • Núria Bosch

    (Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB); Universitat de Barcelona (UB))

  • Francisco Pedraja

    (Universidad de Extremadura)

  • Javier Suárez-Pandiello

    (Universidad de Oviedo)

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyse the technical efficiency and cost-efficiency of the refuse collection services in 73 municipalities located in Catalonia, Spain. The analysis has been carried out using a modification of the DEA model in three stages developed by Fried and Lovell (1996), that allows to take into account the influence of those factors that the producer cannot control (non-controllable variables). The results seem to back the hypothesis that non-controllable variables do not affect very much the ease of provision of the service, with the exception of few municipalities.

Suggested Citation

  • Núria Bosch & Francisco Pedraja & Javier Suárez-Pandiello, 2001. "The efficiency of refuse collection services in Spanish municipalities: do non-controllable variables matter?," Working Papers 2001/4, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    • Handle: RePEc:ieb:wpaper:doc2001-4
    as

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    File URL: http://ieb.ub.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/2001-IEB-WorkingPaper-04.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stevens, Barbara J, 1978. "Scale, Market Structure, and the Cost of Refuse Collection," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 60(3), pages 438-448, August.
    2. repec:ant:wpaper:1992268 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. James Bennett & Manuel Johnson, 1979. "Public versus private provision of collective goods and services: garbage collection revisited," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 34(1), pages 55-63, March.
    4. Pestieau, P. & Tulkens, H., 1990. "Assessing the performance of the public sector activities: some recent evidence from the productive efficiency viewpoint," LIDAM Discussion Papers CORE 1990060, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
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    6. Harry M. Kitchen, 1976. "A Statistical Estimation of an Operating Cost Function for Municipal Refuse Collection," Public Finance Review, , vol. 4(1), pages 56-76, January.
    7. De Borger, B & Kerstens, K. & Moesen, W. & Vanneste, J., 1994. "Explaining Differences in Productive Efficiency: An Application to Belgian Municipalities," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 80(3-4), pages 339-358, September.
    8. Glen Tickner & James C. Mcdavid, 1986. "Effects of Scale and Market Structure on the Costs of Residential Solid Waste Collection in Canadian Cities," Public Finance Review, , vol. 14(4), pages 371-393, October.
    9. Domberger, S & Meadowcroft, S & Thompson, D J, 1986. "Competitive tendering and efficiency: the case of refuse collection," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 7(4), pages 69-87, November.
    10. Jacques Lawarree, 1986. "Une comparaison empirique des performances des secteurs privé et public: le cas des collectes d'imondices en Belgique," Brussels Economic Review, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles, vol. 109, pages 3-31.
    11. Nuria Bosch Roca & Francisco Pedraja & Javier Suarez Pandiello, 1999. "Measuring the efficiency in spanish municipal refuse collection services," Working Papers in Economics 46, Universitat de Barcelona. Espai de Recerca en Economia.
    12. Deller, Steven C, 1992. "Production Efficiency in Local Government: A Parametric Approach," Public Finance = Finances publiques, , vol. 47(1), pages 32-44.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Inder Ruprah & Luis Marcano, 2009. "Does technical assistance matter? An impact evaluation approach to estimate its value added," Journal of Development Effectiveness, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 1(4), pages 507-528.
    2. Karlis Vilerts & Klavs Zutis & Konstantins Benkovskis, 2019. "Factors Determining Municipal Spending Differences in Latvia," Discussion Papers 2019/01, Latvijas Banka.
    3. Bracalente, Bruno & Polinori, Paolo, 2010. "L’efficienza tecnico-economica dei servizi pubblici locali: i casi delle farmacie comunali e dei servizi di igiene urbana [Technical And Economic Efficiency Of Local Public Services: The Cases Of T," MPRA Paper 34455, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Fiscal Efficiency; Local public services; Management;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • H49 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Other
    • H72 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Budget and Expenditures

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