Productivity changes in Taiwan's port industry incorporating environmental regulations on harbor water quality

Abstract

This paper evaluates the productivity changes in Taiwan's port industry for the period 2003–2007. Based on a ‘three-year-window’ data envelopment analysis method, Luenberger productivity indicators are employed to estimate the productivity changes that account for the success of attempts by port agents to control harbor water quality. This is one of the typical environmental concerns in port operations that prior studies on port productivity changes over time have not considered. The results show that the productivity of Taiwan's port industry has experienced growth over the study period, regardless of whether water quality has been considered or not. At a disaggregated level, however, if a port agent has succeeded in controlling water quality, but we do not consider it, the results will misclassify the agent by understating the port's productivity.