Total Factor Productivity and Efficiency of Australian Airports

By using a Malmquist total factor productivity index and data envelopment analysis it is possible to investigate the efficiency and productivity of Australian airports during the 1990s. The results from this analysis indicate that these airports recorded strong growth in technological change and total factor productivity, but did not fare all that well in terms of growth in technical and scale efficiency during the 1990s. At the international level it appears that Australia’s largest airports fare reasonably well in comparison to airports overseas, although they still possess the potential to realise further gains.