X-Efficiency: Theory, Evidence and Applications

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xix

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Roger S. Frantz

   Pages 1-8

3. Production, Cost, and Welfare: A Review

   • Roger S. Frantz

   Pages 9-35

4. X-Efficiency: The Intellectual Setting and an Introduction to the Theory

   • Roger S. Frantz

   Pages 37-60

5. X-Efficiency Theory: 1

   • Roger S. Frantz

   Pages 61-81

6. X-Efficiency Theory: 2

   • Roger S. Frantz

   Pages 83-116

7. Empirical Evidence: Regulated Industries

   • Roger S. Frantz

   Pages 117-136

8. Empirical Evidence: Ownership Form

   • Roger S. Frantz

   Pages 137-159

9. Empirical Evidence: Market Structure

   • Roger S. Frantz

   Pages 161-181

10. X-Efficiency, Its Critics, and a Reply

    • Roger S. Frantz

    Pages 183-199

11. Implications and Conclusions

    • Roger S. Frantz

    Pages 201-210

12. Back Matter

    Pages 211-227

    PDF

My interest in X-Efficiency (XE) dates back to 1978. At the time, I was writing the dissertation for my Ph. D. at Washington State University. My dissertation was concerned with the role of attitudes in the school-to-work transition among young men. I was advised by Professor Millard Hastay (a member of my committee) to look at Leibenstein's "new" book, Beyond Economic Man. One of the things that caught my attention was his be­ havioral description of (selective) rationality. It seemed that Leibenstein's behavioral description of a (selectively) rational individual was very similar to what psychologists such as Abraham Maslow were reporting as being the product of a particular motivational system. In other words, I was im­ pressed with the idea that what Leibenstein was referring to as X-ineffi­ ciency was being discussed by psychologists as "the way it (often) is. " So from the beginning I always considered the concept of X-(in)efficiency to be a valuable one for understanding human behavior. I have since come to believe that this is particularly true when considering behavior in non­ market environments, i. e. , within the firm. Work on this book, however, can most realistically said to have started with work which I began in 1982 while I was a Visiting Scholar at Harvard University. Professor Leibenstein suggested that I consider how some em­ pirical evidence which was being cited as evidence for the role of property rights might also be consistent with XE theory.

• competition
• design
• development
• interest
• management
• market structure
• production
• productivity
• regulation
• research
• service
• transition
• university
• utility
• welfare

`The major contribution, in my opinion, is that it provides a rich resource for the use of any scholar who wishes to learn about the x-efficiency theory and its existence in the real world. Moreover, it willprovide very valuable assistance to any researcher in any field who is studying questions of efficiency, worker motivation, and the psychology of the work place.'
Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 14, 1990.

• San Diego State University, San Diego, USA

  Roger S. Frantz

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