BNDES’ impact on steel industry efficiency: a two-stage Malmquist model usage

Abstract Using two-stage Malmquist-DEA analysis, this article aims to evaluate how the Brazilian National Development Bank - BNDES impacts the performance of the steel industry. The study conducts a Malmquist Index decomposition and nonlinear robust regression, testing the impact of contextual variables. The research hypothesis of positive impact over steel industry performance cannot be supported by the model’s results, which suggests a negative coefficient on the catching up effect. Few examples of quantitative research on national development can be highlighted, mainly focused on theoretical and qualitative issues. The study contributes to the field by making use of a settled methodology to highlight and measure firms efficiency performance. Nevertheless, due to limitations derived from the sample selected and the applied methodology, further research must be carried out, mainly to deal with social outcomes derived from this kind of public policy.