• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
• /
• v.40 no.4
• /
• pp.23-45
• /
• 2018

The Korean government has provided various policy devices to boost technology transfers between academia and industry since the establishment of the Technology Transfer Promotion Act in 2000. Along with the enactment of the law, the Korean government mandated the establishment of a technology transfer office at national and public universities and encouraged technology transfer activities. Despite the quantitative expansion of technology transfer offices (TTOs), operational inefficiency was brought up. As a supplementary policy, the Korean government implemented a line of projects to support the labor and business expenses of leading TTOs. This research questions whether the project greatly affected the technical efficiency of TTOs. We analyze publicly available university panel data from 2007 to 2015 using a one-step stochastic frontier analysis. The results suggest that the program was marginally effective at shifting the technical efficiency distribution to the right on average, but it failed to maximize its impact by diversifying the policy means based on targets. The marginal effects of the program on technical efficiency differ according to the research capability and size of each school. We also compare technical efficiency against the licensing income at the start and end of the program. Technical efficiency increased for the leading TTOs, and both measures show improvements for unsupported TTOs. Our empirical results imply that diversifying the program for universities with different characteristics may have improved the effectiveness of the policy.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• v.8 no.4
• /
• pp.849-855
• /
• 2021

The purpose of this study is to analyze and compare Islamic commercial banks and Islamic banking units with the stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) method during 2014-2018. The data in research using Islamic commercial banks and Islamic banking units. There are 10 Islamic commercial banks and 5 Islamic banking units that meet the criteria of purposive sampling. The calculation of efficiency level using the SFA method with the function of production shows that Islamic commercial banks and Islamic banking units always experience an increase in efficiency every year with the average level of efficiency of Islamic commercial banks being 0.43994, while the average rate of efficiency of Islamic banking units is slightly higher at 0.47654. This shows that Islamic banking units are slightly more optimal in generating total financing in the period 2010-2014. The test results using Independent Sample T-Test can be concluded that there is no difference in the efficiency value between Islamic commercial banks and Islamic banking units. Operating costs are not significant and have a positive effect on the total financing; total assets have a significant effect and a positive impact on total financing; labor costs are not significant and have a negative effect on total financing.

• Informatization Policy
• /
• v.28 no.4
• /
• pp.76-92
• /
• 2021

The value of personal information is increasing with the digital transformation of the 4th Industrial Revolution. The purpose of this study is to analyze the efficiency of personal information protection efforts of 2,000 private companies. It uses a stochastic frontier approach (SFA), a parametric estimation method that measures the absolute efficiency of protective activities. In particular, the personal information activity index is used as an output variable for efficiency analysis, with the personal information protection budget and number of personnel utilized as input variables. As a result of the analysis, efficiency is found to range from a minimum of 0.466 to a maximum of 0.949, and overall average efficiency is 0.818 (81.8%). The main causes of inefficiency include non-fulfillment of personal information management measures, lack of system for promoting personal information protection education, and non-fulfillment of obligations related to CCTV. Policy support is needed to implement safety measures and perform personal information encryption, especially customized support for small and medium-sized enterprises.

• Journal of Korea Trade
• /
• v.26 no.4
• /
• pp.83-97
• /
• 2022

Purpose - In this paper, we, taking South Korea's foreign direct investment in RCEP partners as an example, will examine its investment efficiency in these countries and analyze the main influencing factors, making suggestions for further liberalizing and facilitating its investment in and even for promoting its trade and economic cooperation with them. Design/methodology - In this study, we look at the panel data of South Korea and the other 13 RCEP countries (Brunei excluded) from 2000 to 2019 and apply the stochastic frontier analysis to measure its foreign direct investment efficiency and explore the influencing factors in RCEP countries. We examine the investment potential of South Korea in these places. Findings - We find that South Korea's average investment efficiency in RCEP countries reached 0.62, indicating large investment potential. We also find that its investment efficiency in RCEP partners was heterogeneous. Our study reveals that South Korea's foreign direct investment is significantly positively correlated with the market size and population of the two countries, as well as with whether the host country has a coastline and rich natural resources, while negatively with geographic distance. It shows that free trade agreements, economic freedom, and regulatory quality play significant roles in improving investment efficiency. Originality/value - Through theoretical and empirical analysis, we deal with the efficiency and influencing factors of South Korea's direct investment in RCEP partners, proposing new drivers for facilitating its trade and investment in these countries and comprehensively evaluating the efficiency and revealing the trend of its FDI in these countries. In this paper, we put forward a solid theoretical basis for empirical analysis of the future economic and trade development between South Korea and its RCEP partners and give objective insights for further improving its foreign direct investment efficiency and tapping its investment potential.

• The Korean Journal of Financial Management
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.71-89
• /
• 2005

The purpose of this research is to examine X-efficiency of Korean local credit unions in 2001 by employing the stochastic frontier approach. This study uses the intermediation approach in order to define outputs and inputs of the credit unions. We define the outputs as the amounts of loans, and securities. The inputs are labor, deposit and physical capital. The price of labor is estimated by dividing the total wages by the number of employees. The price of deposit equals total interest divided by total deposit, and the price of physical capital is also computed to divide the total sales and administrative expenses by the physical capital. By the result of this study, the average efficiency score is 0.81. This fact indicates that credit unions can reduce their inputs by 19% for the given outputs. If results are arranged into quartiles based on the efficiency, inefficiency of top 25% credit unions is below 9%, and half of them is over 17%. In addition, e result shows that the efficiency is significantly influenced by region and size even if credit unions in Seoul and Daegu showed little difference in efficiency by size. Generally, medium size credit unions are more efficient than large size.

• Industry Promotion Research
• /
• v.7 no.4
• /
• pp.97-108
• /
• 2022

This paper examined the impact of financing structure on the innovation efficiency of SMEs by constructing an econometric model using panel data of SMEs listed on the SME board from 2010 to 2020 as the research sample. The innovation efficiency of SMEs was measured by the Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA), the relationship between financing structure and innovation efficiency of SMEs was examined with the help of the Tobit model, and the corresponding heterogeneity analysis was conducted. Finally, the robustness of the model was tested. It was concluded that the effects of debt and equity financing on the quantitative efficiency of innovation were non-linear and mainly showed an inverted "U" shaped relationship. For innovation quality efficiency, bond financing could positively contribute, while equity financing negatively inhibits. Finally, the corresponding advice was given.

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

• International Area Studies Review
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.19-35
• /
• 2018

This paper is to estimate the total factor productivity(TFP) in the Korean manufacturing and service industries during the period 1975:1-2016:4 using the stochastic frontier analysis model. In order to analyze the determinants for the total factor productivity the paper estimates the industry-specific determinant elasticities of TFP using the autoregressive distributed model. The industry-specific determinants, which reflect the industrial structure and properties include markup, the ratio of capital to labor(KL), and the ratio of foreign intermediate goods (FIG) to industrial output. The average value for total factor productivity growth was estimated to be 0.0199 in manufacturing and 0.0063 in the service industry. The markup and KL elasticities of TFP were estimated to be 2.481 and 0.651 in manufacturing respectively and -1.403 and 0.042 in the service industry respectively. The empirical results suggest that the industrial markup and the ratio of capital to labor have had decisive effects on the changes in the total factor productivity in the Korean manufacturing and service industries during the period 1975:1-2016:4.

• Journal of Korea Trade
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.47-60
• /
• 2023

Purpose - This paper assesses the trade potential and efficiency of Korea and China in the aquatic products trade. Trade efficiency and potential are the main factors that affect the growth of a country's trade. In this study, a time-varying stochastic frontier trade gravity model was constructed to analyze the trade potential and efficiency between Korea and China. By integrating the results of trade theory and empirical analysis, measures and suggestions were proposed to encourage the release of trade potential of fish exports between Korea and China. Design/methodology - In this paper, GDP per capita instead of economic size was chosen as an explanatory variable, and population size and relative distance were selected as explanatory variables to measure trade potential. For trade non-efficiency terms, regional organizations, political factors, and economic factors were mainly considered, and variables such as free trade agreements, political stability, regulatory quality, government efficiency, currency freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom, and trade freedom were selected. Panel data for South Korea and 14 aquatic products trading partners (including China) from 2002 to 2020 were used in the empirical analysis. Findings - In the past 19 years, South Korea's export trade potential of aquatic products to China has never been lower than 70%. It was above 90% from 2006 to 2018, and has been at a high level for a long time. This shows that China's aquatic product market has large potential for development. Originality/value - This study examines the effectiveness and potential of South Korea's exports of aquatic items to China in a methodical and comprehensive empirical manner. The evaluation of the export trade potential of South Korea's aquatic goods to China is more precise when the effects of regional organization, political, and economic variables are taken into account in the trade non-efficiency term of the stochastic frontier gravity model. At the same time, we propose to increase the scale of South Korea's aquatic products trade from the perspective of China's demand. This issue of trade studies is underexplored both empirically and in theory, although the issue has long been important to Korean and world trade.

• Journal of Korean Society of Transportation
• /
• v.25 no.6
• /
• pp.141-157
• /
• 2007

This paper evaluates the effects of privatization and deregulation on the firm-specific efficiency and total factor productivity (TFP) growth in the Korean and Japanese railways. Using a stochastic frontier approach and a generalized translog functional form, the paper specifies the equation system consisting of a multiproduct variable cost function and input share equations which is estimated with Zellner's iterative seemingly unrelated regression and the corrected least squares method. The Korean and Japanese railway firms are assumed to produce three outputs (Shinkansen passenger-kilometers, incumbent railway passenger-kilometers, ton-kilometers of freight) using three input factors (labor, fuel, maintenance and rolling stock). A monetary value of the ways and fixed installations held by the railroad firm is also included as a quasi-fixed input. The empirical results indicate that the average estimate of cost inefficiency is 2.57% for the total sample and on the average, JNR and JR Kyushu are found to be worst efficient while the most efficient railway firm in the sample is JR West. Also the cost efficiency levels of seven JRs have been improved after the reform and privatization of JNR. The findings also indicate that TFP growth of the privately-owned JRs are higher than those of the government-owned KNR and JNR. Three-island JRs and JR Freight have slightly higher TFP growth than Honshu JRs as well. Thus, the results suggest that managerial autonomy and increased competition via deregulation have improved efficiency and TFP growth.