Analysis of technical efficiency with frontier techniques: The case of Tunisian ports

Abstract

This paper evaluates and examines the technical efficiency of Tunisian ports by utilizing Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) models, while also investigating the influence of infrastructure features on port efficiency. The analysis draws on panel data from six major ports—Bizerte, Goulette, Rades, Sousse, Sfax, Gabes, and Zarzis—spanning the years 2007 to 2019. Variables linked to infrastructure, such as the number of berths, land area, gears, and workforce numbers, were used as inputs. The outcome represents the average difference in efficiency between the DEA and SFA models. The Battese and Coelli (1995) model, applied through SFA, highlights the significant contribution of berth availability to Tunisian ports’ output. Additionally, private sector involvement in handling operations is shown to have a notable negative impact on technical efficiency. According to DEA results, total technical efficiency is calculated at 68.8%, pure technical efficiency at 81.4%, and scale efficiency averages around 83.8%.