When analyzing the productivity of rms, one may want to compare how the rms transform a set of inputs x (typically labor, energy or capital) into an output y (typically a quantity of goods produced). The economic eeciency of a rm is then deened in terms of its ability of operating close to or on the production frontier which is the boundary of the production set. The frontier function gives the...

We consider the Potts model and the related bond, site, and mixed site-bond percolation problems on triangular-type and kagome-type lattices, and derive closed-form expressions for the critical frontier. For triangular-type lattices the critical frontier is known, usually derived from a duality consideration in conjunction with the assumption of a unique transition. Our analysis, however, is ri...

The literature suggests that investors prefer portfolios based on mean, variance and skewness rather than portfolios based on mean-variance (MV) criteria solely. Furthermore, a small variety of methods have been proposed to determine meanvariance-skewness (MVS) optimal portfolios. Recently, the shortage function has been introduced as a measure of efficiency, allowing to characterize MVS optima...

Because of non-convexities in the model, computing much of anything along the nondominated frontier of a large-scale (1000 to 3000 securities) portfolio selection problem with semi-continuous variables is a task that has not previously been achieved. But (a) given the speed at which the nondominated frontier of a classical portfolio problem can now be computed and (b) the possibility that there...

In a recent paper, Yang et al developed an algorithm based on the extended minimal adjustment strategy and the equilibrium competition strategy to achieve a common equilibrium efficient frontier. However, the computational burden of their algorithm is challenging when a sample contains many inefficient decision-making units (DMUs). In this paper, we propose a linear programming model that can a...

Electricity distribution network is a prime example of a natural local monopoly. In many countries, electricity distribution firms are regulated by the government. In Finland, the regulator estimates the efficient cost frontier using the data envelopment analysis (DEA) and stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) methods. This paper reports the main results of the research project commissioned by the...

Environmental performance of the U.S. States is investigated for the period of 1990 – 2007 using Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA). The SFA accounts for both efficiency measure and stochastic noise affecting a frontier. The frontier is formed using indicators of GDP, energy consumption, population, and CO2 emissions. For comparability, all indicators are expressed as ratios to total. Statistic...

In the literature two approaches of productivity analyses can be found, namely the neoclassical approach and the frontier approach. Neoclassical analysis weights inputs by value shares, a procedure that requires data on factor input shares or prices. This approach imputes productivity growth to factors, but cannot distinguish a movement towards the efficiency frontier and a movement of the latt...

For investigating the formation of frontier zones, study of changes in small communities that constituted the majority of earlier populations provides a different perspective from a focus on major centers. A network model applied to settlement and cemetery sites on Rome’s Danube River frontier in Bavaria, Germany, shows that many communities, through participation in regional and long-distance ...

Voluntary frontier settlement leads to independent agency. Since this type of research has not yet been implemented in ongoing voluntary settlement frontiers, we conducted several cultural tasks to investigate Shenzhen, known as China's ongoing "South Frontier," which is composed mostly of people that have emigrated from other Chinese provinces within the past 30 years. We hypothesized that res...