• Journal of Korean Society of Transportation
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.141-157
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• 2007

This paper evaluates the effects of privatization and deregulation on the firm-specific efficiency and total factor productivity (TFP) growth in the Korean and Japanese railways. Using a stochastic frontier approach and a generalized translog functional form, the paper specifies the equation system consisting of a multiproduct variable cost function and input share equations which is estimated with Zellner's iterative seemingly unrelated regression and the corrected least squares method. The Korean and Japanese railway firms are assumed to produce three outputs (Shinkansen passenger-kilometers, incumbent railway passenger-kilometers, ton-kilometers of freight) using three input factors (labor, fuel, maintenance and rolling stock). A monetary value of the ways and fixed installations held by the railroad firm is also included as a quasi-fixed input. The empirical results indicate that the average estimate of cost inefficiency is 2.57% for the total sample and on the average, JNR and JR Kyushu are found to be worst efficient while the most efficient railway firm in the sample is JR West. Also the cost efficiency levels of seven JRs have been improved after the reform and privatization of JNR. The findings also indicate that TFP growth of the privately-owned JRs are higher than those of the government-owned KNR and JNR. Three-island JRs and JR Freight have slightly higher TFP growth than Honshu JRs as well. Thus, the results suggest that managerial autonomy and increased competition via deregulation have improved efficiency and TFP growth.

• Journal of Korean Society of Transportation
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.63-76
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• 2009

On the basis of a Stochastic Frontier Approach (SFA), this paper analyses revenue efficiencies for the same sample of Korean and Japanese railways in the papers which analyze cost efficiencies using a generalized translog functional form. The paper also compares the results of revenue efficiencies with cost efficiencies and evaluates the effects of managerial autonomy and privatization on the firm-specific efficiencies. The results show that the average estimate of revenue inefficiency is 7.02% when the term of inefficiency is assumed to be distributed as a half-normal and 6.98% as a exponential for the total sample. Also, standardized inefficiencies in revenues (7.5%) are greater than those in costs (2.1%). JR East and JR West are found to be most efficient on the revenue side and on the cost side respectively while JNR and JR Kyushu are worst efficient on the both sides. Finally, the correlations between efficiencies in revenues and costs also between efficiencies and privatization are positively correlated. The results suggest that the most independent companies, with increased managerial autonomy via privatization, are the most efficient in both revenues and costs.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.1559-1569
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• 2014

The purpose of this study is to estimate the degree of cost inefficiency for the urban railway lines of a metropolitan city operated by public institutions in Korea and identify the causes of this inefficiency. To this end, we assume that the urban railway lines produce the output of train-km by putting three production factors of labor, electric power and maintenance and set the variable cost function model with the translog function to make a stochastic cost frontier analysis. Based on estimated result, we conclude that the cost savings for 6 years of all lines are about 6,672 hundred million won and top five lines with high inefficiency are Busan Line1, Daegu Line1, Daejeon Line1, Gwangju Line1, and Daegu Line2. The causes of inefficiency are attributable to labor and maintenance factors. The results of this study can be useful in case of finding the priorities of measures and specific plans for reducing labor and maintenance costs in the urban railway operation.

• Journal of Korean Society of Transportation
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• v.23 no.5 s.83
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• pp.15-25
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• 2005

Using a stochastic cost frontier approach(SCFA), this paper annually estimates the efficiency and productivity with same data in the papers which analyze the efficiency and productivity using data envelopment analysis(DEA) to compare the results and suggest the political findings of raising the efficiency and productivity for three publicly-owned rail transit properties. the Seoul Subway Corporation (SSC), the Seoul Metropolitan Electrified Railways Sector of Korea National Railroad (SMESRS) and the Busan Urban Transit Authority (BUTA). The results show that the results of SCFA are higher than DEA for efficiency and lower for productivity in that DEA regards the stochastic error and measurement error as the inefficiency contrary to SFCA. But the political findings from these results appears to be similar as follows. First, the productivity of the three properties should be first improved by using existing technologies efficiently and then by introducing new ones. Second, the three properties should improve the technical efficiency through reducing input quantities to raise their efficiency. Finally, all the three components of the productivity such as productive efficiency change, technical change, and scale change should be considered to evaluate their productivity more correctly.