PRODUCTIVE EFFICIENCY OF THE SWINE INDUSTRY IN HAWAII - STOCHASTIC FRONTIER VS. DATA ENVELOPMENT ANALYSIS

Improving productive efficiency is an increasingly important determina nt of the future of the swine industry in Hawaii. This paper examines the productive efficiency of a sample of swine producers in Hawaii by estimating a stochastic frontier production function and the constant returns to scale (CRS) and variable returns to scale (VRS) output-orie nted DEA models. The technical efficiency estimates obtained from the two frontier techniques are compared. The scale properties are also ex amined under the two approaches. The industry's potential for increasi ng production through improved efficiency is also discussed.