Lithuanian Family Farm Efficiency after Accession to the European Union: Empirical Analysis by the Means of the Frontier Methods and Proposals for the Effective Agricultural Policy

Lithuanian Institute of Agrarian Economics (LIAE) implements a Global Grant project Lithuanian Family Farm Efficiency after Accession to the European Union: Empirical Analysis by the Means of the Frontier Methods and Proposals for the Effective Agricultural Policy.

The project is funded by the European Social Fund under the Operational Programme for Human Resources Development for 2001-2013, Priority 3 „Strengthening Capacities of Researchers“, Measure VP1-3.1-ŠMM-07-K „Support to Research Activities of Scientists and Other Researcher (Global Grant)“.

Project No. VP1-3.1-ŠMM-07-K-03-002.

Project duration: May, 2013 - April, 2015.

Project objectives

The idea of the research is to identify the main factors and sources of (in)efficiency in the Lithuanian agricultural sector and thus propose reasonable guidelines for improvements of the agricultural policy. Accordingly, the following purposes are set: 1) to analyze best practice as well as the underlying trends of efficiency and total factor productivity in the Lithuanian family farm sector; 2) to identify the underlying relationships between the agricultural performance (i. e. efficiency) and explanatory variables describing farm specialization, size and the remaining characteristics. Based on the results obtained from 1) and 2) we would be able 3) to propose effective policy measures which could ensure the viability and sustainability of the family farms. In particular, we will look at the relationships between farm size, efficiency, and organizational form.

In order to meet the aforementioned purposes, the following objectives are set: 1) to overview efficiency and productivity measures as well as the state-of-the-art techniques employed for the analysis of the agricultural efficiency; 2) to establish a farm-level indicator database for the research; 3) to develop the methodology and implement the frontier models in efficiency estimation; 4) to assess the main facotrs of (in)efficiency at micro and macro levels; 5) to define reasonable frameworks for agricultural policy and develop decision support tools for strategic management; 6) disseminate the obtained results through publications in the international outlets, scientific conferences, and workshops.

Research group

Prof. Dr Jens Leth Hougaard (Project Leader)

Prof. Dr Mette Asmild

Dr Irena Kriščiukaitienė

Dr Rasa Melnikienė

Dr Tomas Baležentis

Aistė Galnaitytė

Virginia Namiotko

Doctoral Dissertation

Tomas Baležentis defended his doctoral thesis “Frontier Methods for Analysis of the Productive Efficiency and Total Factor Productivity: Lithuanian Agriculture after Accession to the European Union” at Vilnius University on the 12^th of February, 2015.

Scientific Publications

1. Baležentis, T.; Kriščiukaitienė, I. 2013. Productive Efficiency of the Lithuanian Family Farms (2004-2009): A Non-parametric Inference with Post-efficiency Analysis, Economic Computation and Economic Cybernetics Studies and Research 47(4): 153-172.
2. Baležentis, T.; Baležentis, A.; Kriščiukaitienė, I. 2013. Returns to Scale in the Lithuanian Family Farms: A Qualitative Approach, Ekonomika ir vadyba: aktualijos ir perspektyvos 3(31): 180-189 [Index Copernicus].
3. Baležentis, T.; Valkauskas, R. Returns to scale in the Lithuanian family farms: A quantitative approach. Iš: Žemės ūkio mokslai., Vol. 20, no. 3 (2013) p. 195-210. ISSN: 1392-0200. [Central & Eastern European Academic Source nuo 2007 (EBSCO sąrašas) CAB Abstracts nuo 2002, 3; (paieška) visas tekstas nuo 2009 (sąrašas)].
4. Baležentis, T.; Baležentis, A. 2013. Estimation of the efficiency of the Lithuanian family farms via the order-m frontiers, Management theory and studies for rural business and infrastructure development =Vadybos mokslas ir studijos - kaimo verslų ir jų infrastruktūros plėtrai 35(3): 355-367. (ISSN 1822-6760 (print) / ISSN 2345-0355 (online)) [EBSCO host: Business source complete nuo 2006 (EBSCO sąrašas) Central & Eastern European Academic Source nuo 2006 (EBSCO sąrašas); Ulrich’s; IndexCopernicus].
5. Kriščiukaitienė, I.; Namiotko, V. 2013. Valstybės paramos žemės ūkio ekologinei gamybai veiksmingumo vertinimas, Management theory and studies for rural business and infrastructure development =Vadybos mokslas ir studijos - kaimo verslų ir jų infrastruktūros plėtrai 35(3): 391-397. (ISSN 1822-6760 (print) / ISSN 2345-0355 (online)) [EBSCO host: Business source complete nuo 2006 (EBSCO sąrašas) Central & Eastern European Academic Source nuo 2006 (EBSCO sąrašas); Ulrich’s; IndexCopernicus].
6. Baležentis, T.; Kriščiukaitienė, I. 2013. Efficiency in the Lithuanian Agricultural Sector: Applications of the Non-Parametric and Parametric Measures : Scientific Study. Vilnius: Lithuanian Institute of Agrarian Economics. - 68 p. (online) ISBN 978-9955-481-42-3.
7. Balezentis, T.; Krisciukaitiene, I.; Balezentis, A. The trends of technical and allocative efficiency in Lithuanian family farms // Production and Cooperation in Agriculture Finance and Taxes, 2013, No 30, p. 91-98. ISSN 1691-3078 [AGRIS; EBSCO].
8. Baležentis, T.; Melnikienė, R.; Asmild, M.; Hougaard, J. L.; Galnaitytė, A. 2013. Analysis of the relative efficiency of Lithuanian family farms under uncertainty: alpha-quantile frontiers, Management theory and studies for rural business and infrastructure development = Vadybos mokslas ir studijos - kaimo verslų ir jų infrastruktūros plėtrai 35(4): 480-490. (ISSN 1822-6760 (print) / ISSN 2345-0355 (online)) [EBSCO host: Business source complete nuo 2006 (EBSCO sąrašas) Central & Eastern European Academic Source nuo 2006 (EBSCO sąrašas); Ulrich’s; IndexCopernicus].
9. Baležentis, T.; Misiūnas, A.; Baležentis, A. 2013. Efficiency and productivity change across the economic sectors in Lithuania (2000-2010): the DEA-MULTIMOORA approach, Technological and Economic Development of Economy 19 (Supplement 1): S200-S222. [ISI Web of Science (& Master Journal List) by Thomson Reuters Services (www.isinet.com ; www.scientific.thomsonreuters.com); C.E.E.O.L; CSA - Cambridge Scientific Abstracts; EBSCOhost (Business Source Complete; Business Source Premier; Current Abstracts); Gale®; IndexCopernicus; IRBdirect (ICONDA (International CONstruction DAtabase - the CIB international database)); SCOPUS - Elsevier Bibliographic Databases; Summon ^TM; Ulrichsweb ^TM]. doi:10.3846/20294913.2013.881431
10. Balezentis, T. 2014. Analysing the determinants of Lithuanian family farm performance: a double bootstrap inference, Economic Science for Rural Development 34:66-74. eISSN 2255-9930, ISSN 1691-3078, ISBN 978-9934-8466-1-8 [AGRIS, EBSCO, Straipsnis konferencijos medžiagoje ISI Proceedings].
11. Krisciukaitiene, I.; Balezentis, T.; Balezentis, A. 2014. An input-specific analysis of the cost efficiency in Lithuanian family farms, Economic Science for Rural Development 34:75-82. eISSN 2255-9930, ISSN 1691-3078, ISBN 978-9934-8466-1-8 [AGRIS, EBSCO, ISI Proceedings].
12. Baležentis, T.; Baležentis, A. 2014. Probabilistic productive technology and partial production frontiers: an application to Lithuanian agriculture, Jaunųjų mokslininkų darbai = Journal of Young Scientists 1(41): 141-146. ISSN 1648-8776 [CEEOL nuo 2005, IndexCopernicus nuo 2008].
13. Baležentis, T.; Kriščiukaitienė, I.; Baležentis, A. 2014. A nonparametric analysis of the determinants of family farm efficiency dynamics in Lithuania, Agricultural Economics / The journal of the International Association of Agricultural Economists 45(5): 589-599. ISSN 154-0862 [Abstracting and Indexing Information].
14. Hougaard, J. L., Baležentis, T. 2014. Fuzzy efficiency without convexity, Fuzzy Sets and Systems 255: 17-29. ISSN 0165-0114 [Abstracting and Indexing].
15. Baležentis, T. 2014. Total factor productivity in the Lithuanian family farms after accession to the EU: application of the bias-corrected Malmquist indices, Empirica. Journal of European Economics 41(4):731-746. ISSN 0340-8744 [Social Science Citation Index, Journal Citation Reports/Social Sciences Edition, SCOPUS, EconLit, Google Scholar, EBSCO, CSA, ProQuest, Academic OneFile, CSA Environmental Sciences, Current Contents / Social & Behavioral Sciences, ECONIS, Gale, Geobase, International Bibliography of Book Reviews (IBR), International Bibliography of Periodical Literature (IBZ), International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS), OCLC, Research Papers in Economics (RePEc), SCImago, Summon by ProQuest].
16. Asmild, M.; Baležentis, T.; Hougaard, J. L.; Kriščiukaitienė, I. 2015. Advanced Analysis of Efficiency of Lithuanian Agricultural Sector: Methodologies and Applications : Scientific Monograph. Vilnius: Lithuanian Institute of Agrarian Economics. 480 p. ISBN 978-9955-481-51-5
17. Baležentis, T. 2015. The Sources of the Total Factor Productivity Growth in Lithuanian Family Farms: A Färe-Primont Index Approach , In Prague economic papers 24(2): 225-241. ISSN 1210-0455 [Prague Economic Papers is indexed in Thomson Reuters products: Social Sciences Citation Index, Social Scisearch and Journal Citation Report/Social Sciences Edition, in Elsevier's A&I database Scopus, in EconLit and RePEc/EconPapers electronic databases].

Baležentis, T. 2015. Monografija apie Lietuvos žemės ūkio sektoriaus efektyvumą, In Mokslo Lietuva 8(540): 8. ISSN 1392-7191.

Participation in Conferences

26^th European Conference on Operational Research, Rome, Italy, 2013, July 1-4.

The 5th Lithuanian Young Scientists Conference Operations Research and Applications, Šiauliai University, 2013 09 19

The 6th International Scientific Conference Contemporary Rural Vision, Šiauliai University, 2013 09 27-28.

12th International Conference on Data Envelopment Analysis, 2014 04 14-17, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

15th International Scientific Conference Economic Science for Rural Development 2013, Jelgava, Latvia, 2014 04 24-25.

20th Conference of the International Federation of Operational Research Societies, 13-18 July 2014, Barcelona, Spain.

Scientific Seminar “Managerial Economics: Productive Efficiency and Applications of the Frontier Methods“

Lithuanian Institute of Agrarian Economics organised a scientific seminar Scientific Seminar “Managerial Economics: Productive Efficiency and Applications of the Frontier Methods“ on November 20, 2013.

Book of abstracts

International Scientific-Practical Conference “Innovative Solutions in Economics and Management Science and Studies”

Lithuanian Institute of Agrarian Economics organised an international scientific-practical conference “Innovative Solutions in Economics and Management Science and Studies” on June 19-20, 2014.

Book of abstracts

Contacts

Dr Tomas Baležentis, +370 52 62 10 78, tomas.balezentis@laei.lt