Inference in Dynamic, Nonparametric Models of Production for General Technologies

Nonparametric envelopment estimators are often used to estimate the attainable set and its efficient boundary, and to assess efficiency and changes in productivity. Kneip et al (2021) provide asymptotic results that can be used to make inference about expected changes in productivity measured by Malmquist indices and about the sources of productivity changes. These results require convexity of the attainable set, but in a number of situations this assumption is questionable. Recently, Kneip et al (2022) extend these results to allow for possibly non-convex technologies where the DEA estimators are known to be inconsistent. This paper summarizes these results, and explains how researchers should choose the appropriate method in a particular application.