This item is only available for download by members of the University of Illinois community. Students, faculty, and staff at the U of I may log in with your NetID and password to view the item. If you are trying to access an Illinois-restricted dissertation or thesis, you can request a copy through your library's Inter-Library Loan office or purchase a copy directly from ProQuest.
Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/85541
Description
Title
Three Essays in Public Economics
Author(s)
Hemmeter, Jeffrey Andrew
Issue Date
2004
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Powers, Elizabeth T.
Department of Study
Economics
Discipline
Economics
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Economics, General
Language
eng
Abstract
Local public services often must compete for funding from their providing governments. Public libraries have also had to endure the rise of large bookstores offering similar services. This may have motivated libraries to behave in a more cost efficient manner. Alternatively, monitoring of libraries may have decreased as patrons shift from library use to bookstore use, increasing inefficiency. In the final chapter of this dissertation a stochastic cost frontier and the determinants of cost inefficiency are estimated using a one-step maximum likelihood technique. The results suggest that libraries operate at roughly 44% greater costs than is efficient. Inefficiency is found to be largely due to the size of the population served, the source of funding, and improper staffing ratios. Private sector competition was found to slightly increase library cost inefficiency, consistent with a decrease in monitoring.
Use this login method if you
don't
have an
@illinois.edu
email address.
(Oops, I do have one)
IDEALS migrated to a new platform on June 23, 2022. If you created
your account prior to this date, you will have to reset your password
using the forgot-password link below.
