Many studies have reported findings regarding technical efficiency (i.e., resource use) for district courts around the world. However, our review of previous research did not find any studies targeting cost efficiency. To fill this gap, this study investigates the cost efficiency of Swedish district courts. We apply the Farrell framework and decompose cost efficiency into allocative and technical efficiency. The study finds substantial cost inefficiency for district courts in Sweden, which is mainly due to allocative inefficiency (i.e., having the wrong input mix or paying too much for inputs). This result is not surprising since, for example, there is regional heterogeneity in input prices (i.e., wages and rents). However, it also reveals the potential of, for example, moving district courts out of city centres and high-priced areas. On the other hand, the location and staffing of district courts serve other competing policy concerns, such as the proximity of citizens to district courts. The cost-efficiency analysis gives information about the cost of these competing policy concerns.

许多研究报告了世界各地地区法院关于技术效率（即资源使用）的调查结果。然而，我们对先前研究的回顾没有发现任何针对成本效率的研究。为了填补这一空白，本研究调查了瑞典地区法院的成本效率。我们应用 Farrell 框架，将成本效率分解为分配效率和技术效率。该研究发现瑞典地方法院的成本效率很低，这主要是由于分配效率低下（即投入组合错误或投入过多）。这一结果并不令人惊讶，因为例如，投入价格（即工资和租金）存在地区异质性。然而，它也揭示了将地方法院迁出市中心和高价区的潜力。另一方面，地区法院的位置和人员配备服务于其他相互竞争的政策问题，例如公民与地区法院的接近程度。成本效益分析提供了有关这些相互竞争的政策问题的成本信息。