Technical Efficiency of Grain Production in Ukraine

A stochastic production frontier model with technical inefficiency effects is estimated on a representative sample of Ukrainian state and collective grain-producing farms. Technical efficiency declined from 1989 to 1992. More experienced managers were found to be more productive, with the effect of experience diminishing with age. We found that on-farm provision of production infrastructure was associated with higher efficiency, a result supporting the hypothesis that disorganization causes output to decline in transition economies