國際商港鄰近性與農會經營績效之相關性研究：以基隆、新北地區農會信用部為例

Abstract

農會信用部屬區域性的小型基層金融機構，其經營績效與地方重大建設發展存在密切的關聯性，本文之主要研究目的即在於了解國際商港鄰近性與區域農會經營績效之間的關係。以基隆、新北地區之農會信用部為例，本研究聚焦於此兩地區之區域農會，檢視其與台北港及基隆港兩座國際商港之臨近性是否能產生互利共生之效果，並進而影響其經營績效。本研究為港口衝擊理論在農會信用部經營效率的首次應用與驗證，不僅對相關研究可產生具獨創性之貢獻，亦具備地方發展參考的重要應用價值。 本研究使用中華民國農會2017年至2021年之年報統計資料，應用資料包絡分析法(Data Envelopment Analysis, DEA)評估基隆、新北市各區共計25家農會信用部之經營效率，並利用Tobit迴歸分析法與財務比率比較分析以檢視影響經營績效之因素及農會信用部之財務績效。DEA實證結果顯示，農會信用部2017年至2021年之純技術效率平均值呈現逐年提升的趨勢，而在綜合效率之平均值則為0.973，顯示各農會經營能力差異不大，應可適度縮減投入或擴大規模以達完全效率。其次，北部地區都市型農會的綜合效率以蘆洲區農會及林口區農會為最佳，基隆市農會居次之；而北部地區混合型農會以八里區農會的綜合效率最高，中部地區都市型農會則以汐止區農會為最佳，混合型的農會則為平溪區農會較佳；而南部地區農會則以鶯歌區農會較優。 根據Tobit迴歸結果發現，開車到台北港時間及開車到基隆港時間兩距離變數，皆為影響農會經營效率之顯著影響因子，其估計係數皆呈現負數，此結果說明距離變數，即與台北港及基隆港兩座國際商港間之臨近性，是決定區域農會信用部經營效率之重要影響因子。其次，員工規模亦為決定基隆、新北市各區農會信用部經營效率之顯著解釋變項，其中，中等規模農會之估計係數為負數且顯著，代表平均而言，中等規模農會之經營效率較小規模農會為差。再者，鄉村型農會之估計係數為顯著負值，此結果說明，鄉村型農會之經營效率顯著低於都市型農會，此結果可能是由於都市型農會更能有效率地運用資金並創造盈餘所致。此外，純技術效率與規模效率的迴歸結果大致與綜合效率一致。本研究另選取資金來定義農會規模，實證結果顯示資金規模對農會經營效率之影響為顯著且係數呈現負值，代表就經營效率而言，中等資金規模的農會平均值略低於小規模農會。 最後，本研究將農會的財務比率區分成五個層面以分析農會的財務績效。研究結果顯示，以財務結構而言，混合型農會的存款占淨值比率及固定資產占淨值比率較高。至於償債能力方面，都市型農會比率皆高於混合型農會，而在經營能力方面，都市型及混合型農會兩者間之差異不大。再就農會獲利能力方面，統計結果顯示都市型農會資產報酬率比率較高，其資產運用效率高且獲利較佳；曝險程度方面則以都市型農會之資本適足率較高，而在利害關係人擔保放款總額佔授信總餘額之比率而言，兩類型農會大致相同。

The main objective of this study is to understand the relationship between the proximity to international commercial ports and the operational performance of the regional Farmers’ Association. The credit departments of the Farmers’ Association are regional, small-scale community financial institutions whose operational performance is closely linked to the development of major local infrastructure projects. This research focuses on analyzing the proximity of the regional Farmers’ Association to the international commercial ports of Taipei Port and Keelung Port, examining whether this proximity can produce a mutually beneficial effect on the development of the regional Farmers’ Association and thereby influence their operational performance. This study is the first in domestic and international literature, contributing novel insights to related research. This study uses statistical annual report data from the Farmers' Association of the Republic of China from 2017 to 2021, applying Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to evaluate the operational efficiency of 25 credit departments of the Farmers’ Association in Keelung and New Taipei City. Tobit regression analysis and financial ratio comparison analysis are used to examine the factors influencing operational performance and the regional Farmers’ Association’s financial efficiency. The DEA empirical results show that the average technical efficiency of the credit departments of the Farmers’ Association increased yearly from 2017 to 2021, with an average overall efficiency of 0.973, indicating minimal differences in operational capabilities among the Farmers’ Association. Thus, it is feasible to moderately reduce inputs or expand the scale to achieve full efficiency. Additionally, in the northern urban areas, Luzhou District Farmers’ Association and Linkou District Farmers’ Association had the best overall efficiency, followed by the Keelung City Farmers’ Association. Among the northern mixed-type Farmers’ Association, the Bali District Farmers’ Association had the highest overall efficiency, while in the central urban areas, the Xizhi District Farmers' Association was the best, and among the mixed-type associations, the Pingxi District Farmers’ Association performed better. In the southern region, the Yingge District Farmers’ Association was the best. According to the Tobit regression results, the driving time to Taipei Port and Keelung Port were significant factors affecting the operational efficiency of the Farmers’ Association, with both distance variables showing negative coefficients. This result indicates that the proximity to Taipei Port and Keelung Port is an important factor in determining the operational efficiency of regional farmers' association credit departments. Additionally, the size of the association personnel was a significant factor in determining the operational efficiency of the credit departments in Keelung and New Taipei City. The estimated coefficient for medium-sized associations was negative and significant, indicating that, on average, the operational efficiency of medium-sized associations was lower than that of smaller associations. Furthermore, the estimated coefficient for the rural-type Farmers’ Association was significantly negative, suggesting that rural associations had significantly lower operational efficiency than urban associations. This result may be due to urban associations' more efficient use of funds and higher profit generation. The regression results for pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency were generally consistent with those for overall efficiency. This study also defined the scale of the Farmers’ Association based on capital, showing that the impact of capital scale on operational efficiency was significant, with negative coefficients indicating that medium-capital associations had slightly lower average operational efficiency compared to small-capital associations. Finally, the study analyzed the financial performance of the Farmers’ Association by examining financial ratios in five aspects. The results showed that in terms of financial structure, urban associations had a higher deposit-to-net-worth ratio, while mixed-type associations had a higher fixed-asset-to-net-worth ratio. Regarding debt repayment ability, urban associations had higher ratios than mixed-type associations, while in terms of operational capacity, the differences between urban and mixed-type associations were minimal. For profitability, urban associations had a higher return on assets ratio, indicating more efficient asset utilization and better profitability. Regarding exposure, urban associations had higher capital adequacy ratios, and the ratio of total loans guaranteed by stakeholders to total credit balance was similar between the two types of associations.