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Abstract
This study entails an analysis of the technical efficiency of natural rubber production by
state farms in Vietnam. A time-varying stochastic frontier production function model for
unbalanced data is estimated for 33 farms. Individual farm technical efficiencies are
reported and discussed. One of the main results concerns the bimodal distribution of
technical efficiency indices. A few farms operate near the production frontier while the bulk
operate well away from the frontier. Some implications are drawn from the results as a
guide to future policy research work in the rubber industry in light of recent moves by the
Vietnamese government towards economic reform.