Trends in efficiency in response to regulatory reforms: The case of Indian and Pakistani commercial banks

This paper attempts to estimate trends in the efficiency levels of Indian and Pakistani commercial banks between 1985 and 2003, a time period which encompasses two phases of significant change to the regulation of the financial sector in both countries. Our efficiency estimates show that, during the initial years of the post reform period, a reduction in efficiency is observed for banks in both countries. However, efficiency levels were found to have increased subsequently, suggesting a period of initial adjustment throughout much of the 1990s followed by a subsequent correction in the latter part of the sample period.