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This paper aims to compute the Malmquist Index of Islamic and conventional banks to compare their performance in the sample period of 2005-2009. Islamic banks have been showing tremendous growth throughout the world in recent past. Their progress is exceptional in Islamic countries on account of patronization for religious reasons. There existed vacuum in research of their productivity change over the years.

This study tries to apply the Malmquist Index. The Malmquist Total Factor Productivity Index has been further divided into Efficiency Change Index, Technological Change Index, Pure Efficiency Change Index and Scale Efficiency Change Index to obtain an insight about the reasons for the change in productivity.

Results indicate that the productivity of Islamic banks decreased in 2007 but it increased in 2008 to 2009. Islamic banks had higher productivity growth from 2005 to 2006, but they experienced lower growth in subsequent years as compared to their conventional counterparts.

Data were not available before 2005 in Pakistan.

This study is helpful for the investors and bankers for formulating the future policy.

This study also provides a guideline for establishing the ethical financial institutions.

This is an original attempt.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the total factor productivity (TFP)[1] change and to investigate its determinants in the case of MENA Islamic banks.

In the first stage, bootstrapped Malmquist index approach is used to provide a robust analysis of the changes in the productivity of 33 Islamic banks operating in 10 MENA countries during the period 2006-2011. In the second stage, panel data models are used to investigate the determinants of TFP change.

The results of the first stage show that Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) banks have known a productivity decline between 2006 and 2011 due to technical regress and scale inefficiency. In contrast, non-GCC banks have improved their productivity by benefiting from scale economies. The results of the second stage show that the productivity growth of MENA Islamic banks was mainly determined by bank-specific factors and that TFP indices decreased in the period of global financial crisis.

This paper provides relevant recommendations for improving the productivity of Islamic banks operating in the MENA countries.

This paper attempts to fill a demanding gap in the literature by examining productivity change and investigating its determinants using cross-country data of MENA Islamic banks. In addition, it is one of the few studies that have applied the bootstrapped Malmquist index approach in the case of Islamic banking.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the performance of the Indian non-life (general) insurance sector in terms of efficiency, productivity and returns-to-scale economies. In addition to this, it identifies the determinants of efficiency.

This study employs a two-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) bootstrap approach to estimate the level and determinants of efficiency. In the first stage, the DEA bootstrap approach is employed to estimate bias-corrected efficiency scores. In the second stage, the truncated bootstrapped regression is used to identify the effect of firm-level characteristics on the efficiency of insurers. Moreover, the bootstrapped Malmquist index is used to examine the productivity growth over the observation period 2005–2016.

The bootstrapped DEA results show that the Indian non-life insurance sector is moderately technical, scale, cost and allocative efficient, and there is a large opportunity for improvement. Moreover, the results reveal that the public insurers are more cost efficient than the private insurers. It is also evident that all the insurers irrespective of size and ownership type are operating under increasing returns to scale. Malmquist index results divulge an improvement in productivity of insurers, which is attributable to the employment of the best available technology. Bootstrapped DEA and bootstrapped Malmquist index results also show that the global financial crisis of 2008 has not severely affected the efficiency and productivity of the Indian non-life insurance sector. The truncated regression results spell that size and reinsurance have a statistically significant negative relationship with efficiency. It also shows a statistically significant positive age–efficiency relationship.

The results hold practical implications for the regulators, policy makers, practitioners and decision makers of the Indian non-life insurance companies.

This study is the first of its kind that comprehensively investigates different types of robust efficiency measures, determinants of efficiency, productivity growth and returns-to-scale economies in the Indian non-life insurance market for an extended time period.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a total factor productivity index for the African banking industry. It also investigates the impact of some internal and external determinants affecting bank productivity.

The biennial Malmquist productivity index and various regression models (ordinary least squares, Tobit and truncated bootstrapped regression) are employed in analyzing data from 120 banks in 24 African countries from 2007 to 2012.

The results indicate a general decline in productivity of banks in Africa, largely due to inadequate technological progress. State banks are found to be more productive than foreign and private banks. The regression analyses showed that non-executive directors, leverage, management quality, credit risk, competition and exchange rate have significant impact on bank productivity, but ownership and CEO-duality do not.

The results have implications for management of banks, governments and regulators. It shows the need for policy and investments that improve state-of-the art technology. The findings also seem to suggest poor management practices in input usage, especially in operational management, as well as costs emanating from non-interest sources. Bank managers need to address these deficiencies to improve productivity in African banking markets.

A major contribution of this paper is the productivity index provided for the African banking industry. This study is also the first to apply the biennial Malmquist to analyze productivity in the African banking industry.

Gives an overview of the Australian banking industry, reviews relevant research and analyses productivity changes 1995‐1999 in a panel of 17 banks to assess the effects of deregulation and the reforms introduced by the Wallis report (1997). Explains the methodology (Malmquist indices calculated by data envelopment analysis) and presents the results, which show a decline of 3.1 per cent in technical efficiency over the period and of 3.5 per cent in the total factor productivity index, although there was an annual productivity growth rate of 1.3 per cent. Discusses the underlying reasons for this, compares productivity changes in individual banks and finds that size makes no difference. Considers the implications for policy makers, describes the industry as having a “limit of deregulation” syndrome and believes that further productivity gains depend on advances in technology.

The purpose of this paper is to present an approach for productivity measurement that considers both construction growth and carbon reduction.

The approach applied is a sequential Malmquist-Luenberger productivity analysis based on a directional distance function and sequential benchmark technology using the data envelopment analysis (DEA) technique. The sequential Malmquist-Luenberger productivity change index is decomposed into pure technical efficiency, scale efficiency, and technological change indices, in order to investigate the driving forces for productivity change.

The construction industries of the Australian states and territories were selected implement the new approach. The results indicate that construction growth and carbon reduction can be achieved simultaneously through the learning of techniques from benchmarks.

Current research on total factor productivity (TFP) in construction generally neglects carbon emissions. This does not accurately depict the nature of construction and therefore yields biased estimation results. TFP measurement should consider carbon reduction, which is beneficial for policymakers to promote sustainable productivity development in the construction industry.

The approach developed here is generic and enhances productivity and DEA research levels in construction. This research can be used to formulate policies for evaluating performance in worldwide construction projects, organizations and industries by considering undesirable outputs and desirable outputs simultaneously, and for promoting sustainable development in construction by identifying competitiveness factors.

The purpose of this paper is to longitudinally assess the technical efficiency and productivity, considering investment projects and technological change, in a second-generation petrochemical company.

The study uses data envelopment analysis (DEA) together with the Malmquist index to measure efficiency during the analysis periods. The working method consists of four main phases, namely development of the conceptual model, construction of the mathematical model, application of model to the case, and analysis of the results. The study utilizes a quantitative approach with descriptive goals seeking to evaluate the impacts of technical changes on the operational efficiency and productivity of the production process.

The use of DEA associated with the Malmquist index proved to be viable for analyzing a single company and identifying efficiency improvements, as well as the impacts of the learning process and the implementation of improvement projects. However, the results of the improvement projects and learning process were not representative and had no statistical significance on the actual change in efficiency of the company during the periods analyzed. For the case in question, the learning process and continuous improvement were not observed during all study periods.

The proposition that the improvement projects and investments implemented increased the efficiency of the company was rejected. Hence, with this work, it was possible to determine that the company unnecessarily invested resources in projects to increase efficiency. Furthermore, the company could have explored more internal resources before making significant investments in increased efficiency.

As for the value of this research in the theoretical and academic scope, this paper advances knowledge on the application of DEA because it proposes to establish an internal reference benchmarking for comparison. The literature contains few studies that analyze organizations using continuous processes, such as petrochemical processes, in longitudinal studies as a function of time, especially with the use of DEA.

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) provide small loans and other financial services to the poor. These institutions are established for helping the poor to raise income levels and to reduce poverty. Recently, MFIs are required to reduce their dependence on grants and subsidies. Consequently, they face conflicting objectives of improving reach and profitability. These can be achieved by improving productivity. This paper aims to investigate productivity change in 21 major MFIs in India which are rated by Credit Rating and Information Services of India Limited in 2014.

This paper attempts to examine total factor productivity change in 21 major Indian MFIs during the period from 2014 to 2016 using Malmquist productivity index. The inputs and outputs are selected considering objectives of outreach and financial sustainability. The authors have categorized MFIs in three categories, namely, large, medium and small, depending on asset size.

It is revealed that large MFIs are able to catch up with industry best practices by improving their systems and processes, but they need to improve scale efficiency. The Reserve Bank of India has recently initiated a policy of granting banking licenses to those financial institutions which have good outreach and are financially strong. It can be used for shortlisting MFIs before granting permission to operate as banks. The method can also be used for benchmarking them for productivity. It can also be replicated in other countries.

In India, MFIs are playing important role in economic development by providing microcredit to the poor. However, very few studies have been undertaken regarding productivity of MFIs in India. The present study intends to fill this gap. It will facilitate benchmarking of MFIs as competitive and sustainable financial institutions catering to the requirements of small borrowers.

The high-quality development of the real estate industry is crucial to the transformation of China's economy. However, few studies apply the productivity to explore the development path of the real estate industry in China. To fill this gap, this study mainly investigates the total factor productivity (TFP) of the real estate industry of 30 sample provinces in mainland China from 2007 to 2016.

The Malmquist index is applied to estimate the productivity (i.e. TFP) of the real estate industry, based on the data envelopment analysis (DEA). Then, the truncated tobit regression analysis explores the external influencing factors on the TFP of the real estate industry.

Through empirical analysis, it is found that the high-quality development of the real estate industry depends on the technological innovation by the real estate enterprises and the targeted policies by the provincial government. Moreover, the development of the real estate industry has a positive correlation with the growth of China's economy but a negative correlation with the development of other industries.

TFP mainly reveals the development status of the provincial real estate industry and identifies the driving force for exploring the high-quality development mode of the real estate sector. Furthermore, the fluctuation rule of TFP can be applied to predict the development trend of the real estate industry in the future.

As an application, this study measures the TFP of the Chinese real estate industry in different provinces and periods. The results have meaningful policy implications for policymakers regulating the real estate industry.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the changes in productivity of zakat institutions in Malaysia from 2003 to 2007. The data consist of a panel of 14 State Islamic Religious Councils (SIRCs) in Malaysia. Efficiency is measured by the Malmquist Index, using a data envelopment analysis (DEA) technique.

This paper uses Malmquist Productivity Index, using a DEA technique. The Malmquist productivity measures are decomposed into two components: efficiency change and technical change index.

The results showed that total factor productivity (TFP) has increased slightly for the whole industry, which is mainly due to the technical change rather than the efficiency change. Further decomposition of the efficiency change into its pure technical and scale efficiency components suggest that the pure efficiency is found to be a more important source of efficiency change than scale efficiency component.

This paper investigates the productivity and efficiency of zakat institutions in Malaysia. It will be of value to provide evidence to the policy makers to improve the efficiency of the institutions.