Fisher ideal output, input, and productivity indexes revisited

Abstract

A productivity index for a firm is generally defined as an output index divided by an input index. The first part of the paper uses the test or axiomatic approach to index number theory in order to determine the appropriate functional form for the output and input indexes. It is found that the Fisher ideal index satisfies 21 reasonable tests and is uniquely characterized by a subset of these tests. In the remainder of the paper, the economic approach to productivity indexes introduced by Caves, Christensen, and Diewert is adopted and, again, a strong justification for the Fisher productivity index is provided.

Measuring the Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Efficiency and Productivity of the Banking System in South Africa

“…Formulation (5) above was first proposed by Bjurek (1996) but is commonly known as the Hicks-Moorsteen index. O'Donnell (2011) states that it is called as such because it is the geometric average of two indexes that Diewert (1992) attributed to Hicks (1961) and Moorsteen (1961).…”

Total Productivity and Profitability Analyses of Turkish Boron Mining

“…Generally four basic index numbers are used in productivity measurement methods: Laspeyres, Paasche, Törnqvist and Fisher index (Diewert, 1993;Rogers, 1998;Mawson et al, 2003;Ahn and Abt, 2005). However, the index form called "Fisher Ideal Index" has been used commonly over the recent years because of the reasons mentioned below.…”

Dynamics of dairy farm productivity growth

“…While earlier studies employed the Laspeyre and Paasche indices, these methods have largely been replaced by the Törnqvist-Theil index, which is consistent with a more flexible translog production function, and by the Fischer index, which is proved by Diewert (1992) to be a superlatie index. The Eltetö Köves Szulc (EKS) formula, when combined with the Fisher index, help to impose transitivity to ensure comparability of estimation results between countries, regions or farms.…”