Estimating the Malmquist Productivity Index of Airports in Greater China: A Parametric Output Distance Function Approach

摘要

In this paper, we measure the productivity changes of thirty airports in Greater China during the 2000-2006 period by computing their Malmquist productivity indices using the parametric output distance function method. On average, the productivity of airports grew at 10.3% annually over our sample period. In addition, decomposing the Malmquist index did not provide evidence supporting any ―catching-up‖ in technical efficiency between regional airports and major hubs. The rapid development of crossstraits direct flights has created opportunities for the Taipei Taoyuan International Airport, but has also presented challenges to the Hong Kong and Macau international airports. The findings of this study indicate that authorities in Taipei and Hong Kong should invest more in infrastructure to raise their productivity, while more policy measures aimed at efficiency improvements are called for in Macau.