• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.23-44
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• 2022

Purpose - Recent issues such as vessel enlargement, strengthening of environmental regulations, and port smartization are expected to increase costs and intensify competition in the port industry. In the new normal era, when external growth has reached its limit, the efficient operation of ports is becoming indispensable for achieving sustainable growth. This study aims to identify the determinants of inefficiency by examining the cost structure and efficiency of container terminals in Korea and furthermore propose the political implications to derive the maximization of efficiency. Design/methodology - This study estimates the cost function of container terminal operators and identifies the efficiency of container terminals using stochastic cost frontier (SCF) in the first stage. In the second step, the SCF results are compared with the data envelopment analysis (DEA). Last, this paper proposes efficiency determinants on container terminal operation to establish appropriate strategies. Out of the 29 container terminal operators in South Korea, 13 operators participated in the survey. The translog cost function was estimated utilizing a total of 116 observations collected over the 2007-2017 period. Findings - Empirical analysis shows that economies of scale exist in Korea's container ports, which provides a rationale for the government's policy to establish the global terminal operator by integrating small terminal operators to enhance competitiveness. In addition, as a result of the determinants analysis, container throughput, weight of direct employment costs, and labour cost share have positive effects on improving cost efficiency, while inefficiency increases as the length of quay increases. More specifically, cost efficiency improves as the proportion of direct employment costs to outsourcing service costs increases. Originality/value - This study contributes to analyzing the inefficiency factors of container terminals through efficiency analysis with respect to a cost function. In addition, this study proposes the practical and political implications, such as establishing a long-term manpower pool, the application of the hybrid liner terminal system, and the construction of a statistical data system, to improve the cost inefficiency of terminal operators.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.1559-1569
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• 2014

The purpose of this study is to estimate the degree of cost inefficiency for the urban railway lines of a metropolitan city operated by public institutions in Korea and identify the causes of this inefficiency. To this end, we assume that the urban railway lines produce the output of train-km by putting three production factors of labor, electric power and maintenance and set the variable cost function model with the translog function to make a stochastic cost frontier analysis. Based on estimated result, we conclude that the cost savings for 6 years of all lines are about 6,672 hundred million won and top five lines with high inefficiency are Busan Line1, Daegu Line1, Daejeon Line1, Gwangju Line1, and Daegu Line2. The causes of inefficiency are attributable to labor and maintenance factors. The results of this study can be useful in case of finding the priorities of measures and specific plans for reducing labor and maintenance costs in the urban railway operation.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.509-514
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• 2010

The purpose of this study is to analyze the technical efficiency and its determinants for Korean Apiculture farming by using from door to door and e-mail inquiry data. The analysis was implemented through the Cobb-Douglas stochastic frontier production function (SFPF) model including the technical inefficiency effect model for cross-sectional data. To measure the SFPF model, honey production was used for a dependent variable, and for input variables labor cost, preventive cost, material cost, feeding cost, depreciation cost were used. Farmer's age, farmer's career, farming scale, full-time or half-time firm and movement or fixed firm variables were used to measure the inefficiency effect model. The average technical efficiency on apiculture farming in Korea is estimated to be 0.8112. It means that there were technical inefficiency of about 18.88% in Korea apiculture farming. In this study there are some suggestions which could increase the technical efficiency of Korean apiculture farming.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.696-706
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• 2013

This study aims to develop DEA model which can look into budget cost variance analysis tool based on standard cost using 68 hospital's input and output data. For accomplishing this purpose, by introducing new DEA model which can get an attainable target cost, we can decompose an actual cost difference into several meaningful sub variances. Also based on the 2008 general hospital data, this model can make variance analysis between actual cost and target cost. Total variance can be divided into technical inefficiency variance, price inefficiency variance, allocation inefficiency variance. This study introduces that by using target budget cost concept, traditional actual cost variance can be divided into a technical variance, price variance, budget variance. Finally, we can get result which confirms there does not exist favorable size effects on efficiency and cost management in running a general hospital.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.1-17
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• 2015

This study compares the most widely used parametric and non-parametric techniques to measure cost and profit efficiency of banks, namely the Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). We formulate the specification form of both stochastic cost and profit frontier models and constant return to scale Cost DEA and Profit DEA models and provide an empirical assessment of the cost and profit frontiers based on a panel dataset of National Commercial Banks (NCBs) and Private Banks (PBs) in Bangladesh over the 2001-2010 period. The cost inefficiency and profit efficiency are slightly higher for PBs than NCBs in case of both SFA and DEA. The coefficients of advance and off-balance sheet items are significant that positively influence the banks in stochastic cost frontier model while the advance, other earning assets, price of borrowed fund are significant and negative effects on the banks in stochastic profit frontier model. The average cost inefficiency and average profit efficiency are recorded with 16.3% and 91% respectively. The highest and lowest cost inefficiency are observed for Janata Bank and United Commercial Bank Limited whilst the highest and lowest profit efficiency are recorded for Eastern Bank Limited and Janata Bank respectively. The average technical and allocative efficiency are 68.8% and 35.9%, respectively in case of CRS cost-DEA model whereas they are 70.3% and 31.8% in case of CRS profit-DEA model. The average cost inefficiency is recorded 6.3% by SFA whereas it is 24.5% by DEA. The average profit efficiency is found 91% by SFA while it is 22.1% by DEA, and SFA method shows better bank efficiency than DEA.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.12
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• pp.211-222
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• 2020

This study examines simultaneous relationships between regulatory capital, risk, and cost-inefficiency for a sample of 30 commercial banks in Bangladesh from 2006 to 2018. To conduct the analysis, we used the Generalized Methods of Moments (GMM) in an unbalanced panel data framework. The empirical results show that there is a negative and significant relationship between capital regulation and credit, and overall risk. It is also evident from the results that the capital adequacy ratio is positively and significantly related to default risk and liquidity risk. Therefore, higher capitalized banks take an effort to prevent more credit risk and promote financial stability by reducing liquidity risk. Results also report that banks have been characterized as inefficient, less capitalized, and high risk. On the other hand, efficient banks are more stable but have a high level of liquidity risk. Besides, from the size of the bank, large banks are defined as having lower regulatory capital, are more risk seekers but stable with higher cost-efficiency. Notably, higher capitalized banks are more profitable and cost-efficient by reducing risk. Finally, this study also provides some insightful policy suggestions to the stakeholders.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.93-118
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• 2022

Purpose - Export marketers may have incentives to attempt real earnings management to avoid low reported earnings. Therefore, we attempted to verify the relationship between cost stickiness and real earnings management in the context of export marketing. Design/methodology/approach - Data were collected from exporters that settle-accounts in December excluding financial businesses listed on the stock market from 2015 to 2019. Multiple regression analysis were employed to analyze the data. Findings - The results showed that there is a negative relationship between cost stickiness and real earnings management. In addition, the results showed that export marketers little attempt to offset the cost inefficiency caused by the increase in expense because of cost stickiness with opportunistic management activities through real earnings management. Rather, as the level of real earnings management appears lower, exporters showing cost stickiness are expected to report management performance based on actual marketing. Furthermore, exporters with a high level of managerial centrality or high managerial overconfidence little attempt to offset cost inefficiency caused by cost stickiness with real earnings management activities. Research implications or Originality - Our study is the first to investigate the quality of earnings information of exporters with cost stickiness. Based on the results, we suggested efficient marketing strategies for exporters.

• Journal of Environmental Policy
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.3-27
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• 2010

In this paper, we have analyzed the cost structure of the Korean manufacturing industry in relation to the central government's environmental investment(CGEI below) by applying translog variable cost function. Important findings are as follows. First, sufficiency degree of CGEI of 0.7230, less than optimal level of 1, causes production inefficiency. Therefore, central government should forward a strategy to raise CGEI to meet appropriate standards. In addition, inspite of the deficiency of CGEI, shadow priceis lower than market price due to q-value of 0.9572, yielding unfavorable conditions for CGEI. However, CGEI brings about increase in output, variable cost saving, and economies of scale of firms. Second, by comparing this study with an existing study(2010), we have discovered the following facts. In both studies, we find that there are deficiency of investment, unfavorable conditions in investment, economies of scale, and output increase due to investment. However, the current study has found that, CGEI, which shows efficiency by positive(+) shadow price, saves variable cost. Therefore, firms suffer from production inefficiency due to variable cost caused by a shortage of efficient CGEI. Moreover, the previous study conducted in 2010 found that investment in prevention of environmental pollution(IPEP below), which indicates inefficiency by negative(-) shadow price, cannot reduce variable cost. In such circumstances, firms yield abnormal production efficiency based on variable cost savings caused by inefficient IPEP. For this reason, firms should raise IPEP to optimal level to reduce IPEP inefficiency to achieve production efficiency by reducing variable cost.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.453-472
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• 2014

Analyzing the effects of carbon emissions trading, which is scheduled to be introduced in Korea in 2015, requires an accurate assessment of $CO_2$ abatement costs by both industries and firms. Firms faced with regulatory constraints are unlikely to minimize their production costs due to rising production costs caused by allocative inefficiency of inputs. The use of a distance function would results in underestimation of $CO_2$ abatement costs, because it fails to capture the allocative distortion costs. Recognizing the disadvantage of the previous approach, first, this paper tests for allocative efficiency of input for the Korean steel industry over the period 1990-2010, then derives the marginal $CO_2$ abatement costs by applying a cost function approach. The hypothesis of allocative efficiency in inputs is rejected and the steel industry pays an annual average cost of 92,000 won in removing an additional ton of $CO_2$ over the sample period.

• Journal of the Korean Operations Research and Management Science Society
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.79-98
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• 2004

Despite its contribution to the Korean medical service industry the question of how efficiently the Korean public hospitals have operated has been unresolved. This study gauges and analyzes the overall efficiency and the Malmquist productivity index in the industry over the period 1992 through 2001. In addition to cost efficiency. we also measure technical, allocative, pure technical and scale efficiencies. Furthermore. the Malmquist index is decomposed into efficiency and frontier changes. We identify several important factors which seem to have strong relationship with various inefficiency estimates. The results indicate that on average the public hospitals has wasted a significant amount of resources and costs over the period. Unlike many other industries, the low level of cost efficiency of the public hospital industry is mainly due to allocative inefficiency rather than technical inefficiency. The Maimquist productivity indices seem both due to the frontier change and efficiency change, but with more effect by the former. The results also indicate that the turnover of hospital beds has played an important role in determining efficiency and productivity of this important industry.