Economies of Scale and Inefficiency in County Extension Councils: A Case for Consolidation?
用参数和非参数方法估算堪萨斯州县级推广办公室的规模经济和低效率，发现存在显著的规模经济和低效率，模拟显示合并能节省成本，尤其对农村和人口较少的县效果更明显。
Abstract Current funding, mission, and organizational difficulties question the long‐run survival of extension and the Land‐Grant system. Consolidation of county extension offices is seen as a possible remedy for extension's problems. This paper estimates scale economies and inefficiencies in county extension offices in Kansas using parametric and nonparametric techniques. Large economies of scale and inefficiencies are found. Based on the empirical results, several simulations are performed to measure the short‐run cost savings associated with consolidation. The results reveal that while all counties would experience significant savings from consolidating, rural and less populated counties would experience the greatest per unit savings.