Decomposing technical efficiency in European pig farming: persistent and transient inefficiency across production systems

This study examines efficiency differences between major European pig production systems. We applied a four-component stochastic frontier model to determine the levels of persistent and transient efficiency across different pig farming systems in EU countries, using unbalanced panel data. The results revealed that persistent efficiency is more relevant for Spanish, French, and Danish farms, suggesting that structural factors are comparatively more relevant in explaining efficiency performance in these production systems. Transient efficiency is the most important component for Polish farms, suggesting that short-term managerial and operational factors may play a comparatively larger role. Our empirical findings could provide important implications for pig farm management decisions and policy measures in European countries. Improving the long-term efficiency of Spanish, French, and Danish farms may require new policies driven by country-specific factors, presumably beyond farmers’ control. Polish farms could improve short-term conditions in managerial skills and farming practices to reduce the transient inefficiency of farms.