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Data Envelopment Analysis (data + envelopment_analysis)
Terms modified by Data Envelopment Analysis Selected AbstractsA National Study of Efficiency for Dialysis Centers: An Examination of Market Competition and Facility Characteristics for Production of Multiple Dialysis OutputsHEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH, Issue 3 2002Hacer Ozgen Objective. To examine market competition and facility characteristics that can be related to technical efficiency in the production of multiple dialysis outputs from the perspective of the industrial organization model. Study Setting. Freestanding dialysis facilities that operated in 1997 submitted cost report forms to the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), and offered all three outputs,outpatient dialysis, dialysis training, and home program dialysis. Data Sources. The Independent Renal Facility Cost Report Data file (IRFCRD) from HCFA was utilized to obtain information on output and input variables and market and facility features for 791 multiple-output facilities. Information regarding population characteristics was obtained from the Area Resources File. Study Design. Cross-sectional data for the year 1997 were utilized to obtain facility-specific technical efficiency scores estimated through Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). A binary variable of efficiency status was then regressed against its market and facility characteristics and control factors in a multivariate logistic regression analysis. Principal Findings. The majority of the facilities in the sample are functioning technically inefficiently. Neither the intensity of market competition nor a policy of dialyzer reuse has a significant effect on the facilities' efficiency. Technical efficiency is significantly associated, however, with type of ownership, with the interaction between the market concentration of for-profits and ownership type, and with affiliations with chains of different sizes. Nonprofit and government-owned facilities are more likely than their for-profit counterparts to become inefficient producers of renal dialysis outputs. On the other hand, that relationship between ownership form and efficiency is reversed as the market concentration of for-profits in a given market increases. Facilities that are members of large chains are more likely to be technically inefficient. Conclusions. Facilities do not appear to benefit from joint production of a variety of dialysis outputs, which may explain the ongoing tendency toward single-output production. Ownership form does make a positive difference in production efficiency, but only in local markets where competition exists between nonprofit and for-profit facilities. The increasing inefficiency associated with membership in large chains suggests that the growing consolidation in the dialysis industry may not, in fact, be the strategy for attaining more technical efficiency in the production of multiple dialysis outputs. [source] DEA network computing in multi-stage parallel processesINTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONS IN OPERATIONAL RESEARCH, Issue 3 2003Toshiyuki Sueyoshi DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) is a managerial method that has been widely used for performance analysis in various public and private sectors. To deal with large-scale DEA problems, this research proposes the architecture of DEA network computing (LAN: Local Area Network) that is designed to coordinate a simultaneous use of multiple personal computers. An important feature of the proposed DEA computer architecture is that it is computationally structured in multi-stage parallel processes to enhance its algorithmic efficiency. The performance of the proposed network computing approach is tested and examined in a large simulation study. [source] An AHP/DEA methodology for ranking decision making unitsINTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONS IN OPERATIONAL RESEARCH, Issue 2 2000Z. Sinuany-Stern Abstract This paper presents a two-stage model for fully ranking organizational units where each unit has multiple inputs and outputs. In the first stage, the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is run for each pair of units separately. In the second stage, the pairwise evaluation matrix generated in the first stage is utilized to rank scale the units via the Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP). The consistency of this AHP/DEA evaluation can be tested statistically. Its goodness of fit with the DEA classification (to efficient/inefficient) can also be tested using non-parametric tests. Both DEA and AHP are commonly used in practice. Both have limitations. The hybrid model AHP/DEA takes the best of both models, by avoiding the pitfalls of each. The nonaxiomatic utility theory limitations of AHP are irrelevant here: since we are working with given inputs and outputs of units, no subjective assessment of a decision maker evaluation is involved. AHP/DEA ranking does not replace the DEA classification model, rather it furthers the analysis by providing full ranking in the DEA context for all units, efficient and inefficient. [source] The Impact of Mergers and Acquisitions on the Efficiency of the US Banking Industry: Further EvidenceJOURNAL OF BUSINESS FINANCE & ACCOUNTING, Issue 1-2 2008Adel A. Al-Sharkas Abstract:, Using the Stochastic Frontier Approach (SFA), this study investigates the cost and profit efficiency effects of bank mergers on the US banking industry. We also use the non-parametric technique of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to evaluate the production structure of merged and non-merged banks. The empirical results indicate that mergers have improved the cost and profit efficiencies of banks. Further, evidence shows that merged banks have lower costs than non-merged banks because they are using the most efficient technology available (technical efficiency) as well as a cost minimizing input mix (allocative efficiency). The results suggest that there is an economic rational for future mergers in the banking industry. Finally, mergers may allow the banking industry to take advantage of the opportunities created by improved technology. [source] Capital Structure and Firm EfficiencyJOURNAL OF BUSINESS FINANCE & ACCOUNTING, Issue 9-10 2007Dimitris Margaritis Abstract:, This paper investigates the relationship between firm efficiency and leverage. We consider both the effect of leverage on firm performance as well as the reverse causality relationship. In particular, we address the following questions: Does higher leverage lead to better firm performance? Does efficiency exert a significant effect on leverage over and above that of traditional financial measures of capital structure? Is the effect of efficiency on leverage similar across different capital structures? What is the signalling role of efficiency to creditors or investors? Using a sample of 12,240 New Zealand firms we find evidence supporting the theoretical predictions of the Jensen and Meckling (1976) agency cost model. Efficiency measured as the distance from the industry's ,best practice' production frontier is positively related to leverage over the entire range of observed data. The frontier is constructed using the non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method. Using quantile regression analysis we show that the reverse causality effect of efficiency on leverage is positive at low to mid-leverage levels and negative at high leverage ratios. Firm size also has a non-monotonic effect on leverage: negative at low debt ratios and positive at mid to high debt ratios. The effect of tangibles and profitability on leverage is positive while intangibles and other assets are negatively related to leverage. [source] Effects of machinery-sharing arrangements on farm efficiency: evidence from SwedenAGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, Issue 5 2010Karin Larsén Machinery-sharing; Partnerships; Data envelopment analysis Abstract The effects of partnerships, in the form of machinery-sharing arrangements, on farm efficiency are analyzed using data for Swedish crop and livestock farms. Efficiency scores are obtained using Data Envelopment Analysis and the findings suggest that efficiency is, on average, higher among partnership farms compared to nonpartnership farms. Moreover, partnership farms that are characterized by the most extensive form of collaboration, that is, that share all machinery with one or several other farms, display the highest average efficiency. In a two-stage procedure in which efficiency determinants are analyzed in the second stage, the bootstrap procedures suggested by Simar and Wilson (2007) are applied in addition to the conventionally used Tobit regression. Participation in partnership arrangements is found to have a positive and statistically significant impact on farm efficiency. [source] The impact of the Asian financial crisis on bank efficiency: The 1997 experience of Malaysia and ThailandJOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, Issue 7 2010Fadzlan Sufian Abstract In the mid-1990s, the East Asian countries experienced severe financial crisis that were followed by deep economic downturns. A variety of methodologies have been used to understand the nature of the Asian financial crisis. However, the impact of the 1997 Asian financial crisis on the efficiency of the financial industry has yet to be studied. By employing the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach the present study attempts to examine for the first time the impact of the 1997 Asian financial crisis on the efficiency of the Malaysian and Thailand banking sectors, two of the East Asian countries that were severely affected by the crisis. The study focuses on three major approaches vis., intermediation, value added and operating approaches. The results clearly bring forth the high degree of inefficiency in the Malaysian and Thailand banking sectors, particularly a year after the crisis. We find that the Malaysian banking sector has exhibited a higher TE levels during the post crisis period under the intermediation and value added approaches, while TE seems to be lower under the operating approach. The empirical findings suggest that the Thailand banking sector has exhibited a lower TE level during the post crisis period under all approaches. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Supplier Evaluation and Rationalization via Data Envelopment Analysis: An Empirical ExaminationJOURNAL OF SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2001Ram Narasimhan SUMMARY Strategic evaluation of supplier performance assists firms in improving their operations across a variety of dimensions. Specifically, it aids in supplier process improvement, which in turn enhances firm performance, allows for optimal allocation of resources for supplier development programs, and assists managers in restructuring their supplier network based on performance. In order to address these issues, this article proposes a methodology for effective supplier performance evaluation based on data envelopment analysis (DEA), a multi-factor productivity analysis technique. The efficiencies derived from the DEA model are utilized in conjunction with managerial performance ratings in identifying supplier clusters, which are categorized into high performers and efficient (HE), high performers and inefficient (HI), low performers and efficient (LE), and low performers and inefficient (LI). Effective benchmarks from the HE cluster are identified for improving the operations of suppliers in the HI, LE, and LI clusters. Finally, managerial insights and implications from the study are discussed. [source] Analysis, ranking and selection of R&D projects in a portfolioR & D MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2002Jonathan D. Linton A method for the analysis, ranking and selection of R&D projects from a portfolio is outlined and demonstrated. It is proposed that an objective multi-criteria decision making method, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), be used to split a portfolio of projects into accept, consider further and reject sub-groups. Next, the ,consider further' group is examined using a subjective method, the Value Creation Model. Such an approach allows for obvious decisions to be automated and complex decisions to be given careful consideration, an approach that is more consistent with how practising managers actually make select/reject decisions. DEA allows for comparison of variables without requiring weights or conversion factors. The relation between research strategy and consideration of categorical data is considered in relation to the research portfolio of the Advanced Technology Division of Bell Laboratories. [source] Australian Banking Efficiency and Its Relation to Stock ReturnsTHE ECONOMIC RECORD, Issue 258 2006JOSHUA KIRKWOOD We used Data Envelopment Analysis to evaluate cost efficiency of Australian banks in producing banking services and profit between 1995 and 2002. Empirical results indicate the major banks have improved their efficiency in producing banking services and profit, while the regional banks have experienced little change in the efficiency of producing banking services, and a decline in the efficiency of producing profit. An attempt is made to relate the changes in efficiency to stock returns. Results indicate that for our sample, changes in firm efficiency are reflected in stock returns. [source] A BROAD PERFORMANCE BENCHMARK BASED ON CITIZENS' PREFERENCES: THE CASE OF SWEDISH PUBLIC TRANSPORTATIONANNALS OF PUBLIC AND COOPERATIVE ECONOMICS, Issue 4 2009Magnus Söderberg ABSTRACT,:,Benchmarks have been recommended for assessing the relative performance of local government services. However, these are often narrowly defined and therefore ignore important welfare dimensions. This paper proposes a framework for benchmarking based on a combination of production and cost characteristics and citizens' subjective perceptions. An evaluation consisting of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and different regression models is applied on all 21 Swedish regional public transport authorities, covering the period 2002,2006 (n = 103). The results indicate that the industry as a whole is about 70% efficient and that efficiency can be improved by increasing the sizes of the urban and the bus vehicle-km shares. The optimal ownership structure is to have one large owner combined with about 25 small owners. [source] Efficiency of Junior High Schools and the Role of Proprietary StructureANNALS OF PUBLIC AND COOPERATIVE ECONOMICS, Issue 4 2003by Gian Paolo Barbetta We analyze a sample of 497 schools located in Piemonte, a region in the North-Western part of the country, distinguishing between public, private for-profit and private nonprofit schools. In stage one of the analysis, we provide robust estimates of efficiency scores, using the two most widely known techniques in applied works, namely Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Stochastic Frontiers (SF). In stage two, we suggests that proprietary structure matters in explaining efficiency. Nonprofit schools are more efficient than public ones, whereas for-profit counterparts are outperformed by public producers. Moreover, we find that foreign and disabled students affects negatively efficiency, raising concerns for cream-skimming practices among private producers. Finally, school size is another important determinant of efficiency. [source] Production et rationalisation des intermédiaires financiers: Leçons à tirer de l'expérience des Caisses Populaires AcadiennesANNALS OF PUBLIC AND COOPERATIVE ECONOMICS, Issue 3 2003André Leclerc Resume Nous mesurons à l'aide du DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) l'efficacité des caisses populaires acadiennes en utilisant la valeur des produits d'intermédiation ainsi que le nombre de transactions réalisées par chaque caisse entre 1997 et 2000, au moment où un important programme de fusions et de réingénierie financière était mis en place. Cette analyse permet d'établir plusieurs résultats. Tout d'abord, l'inclusion des produits transactionnels réduit environ de moitié l'inefficacité technique et économique par rapport à l'inefficacité obtenue lorsque l'output des caisses est limité seulement aux produits transactionnels. Un algorithme d'auto-amorçage permet de vérifier que ce résultat est statistiquement significatif. Ensuite, nous montrons que le programme de fusions a touché surtout les caisses moins efficaces et a permis d'augmenter de façon importante leur efficacité grâce à une baisse du nombre d'employés en équivalent temps complet. Finalement, nous montrons que d'importants progrès technologiques ont été réalisés entre 1997 et 2000 en raison de l'accroissement du nombre de transactions informatisées. Des gains additionnels de productivité ont été rendus possible grâce à l'amélioration de l'efficacité des caisses ayant participéà une fusion tandis que les caisses n'ayant pas fusionné, bien que plus efficaces au départ que les autres, n'ont pas réalisé de gains d'efficacité. [source] Data Envelopment Analysis: A Practical Tool to Measure PerformanceAUSTRALIAN ACCOUNTING REVIEW, Issue 2 2010Paul Rouse This paper describes a productivity method, data envelopment analysis (DEA), and how it can be used to measure performance using multiple performance measures. DEA compares organisations or parts of organisations that share common goals and use similar resources to produce similar products, and calculates the technical efficiency with which firms convert bundles of inputs into bundles of outputs. DEA has been used in both public and private settings, and the paper describes some of its applications within Australasia. A case study of New Zealand dairy farms is used to demonstrate the benchmarking capability of DEA. While built upon solid theoretical foundations, DEA is essentially a practical tool that can be used by academics for research as well as by managers and practitioners for improved performance measurement and accountability. [source] X-Efficiency and Productivity Change in Australian BankingAUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC PAPERS, Issue 2 2004Penny Neal This paper investigates X -efficiency and productivity change in Australian banking between 1995 and 1999 using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Malmquist productivity indexes. It differs from earlier studies by examining efficiency by bank type, and finds that regional banks are less efficient than other bank types. The study concludes that diseconomies of scale set in very early and hence are not a sufficient basis on which to allow mergers between large banks to proceed. Total factor productivity in the banking sector was found to have increased by an average annual 7.6 per cent between 1995 and 1999. All of the productivity increase was due to technological advance shifting out the frontier. The banking sector's performance was less efficient relative to the frontier in 1999 than it had been in 1995. [source] Farm-level efficiency and productivity measurement using panel data: wool production in south-west VictoriaAUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL & RESOURCE ECONOMICS, Issue 2 2001Iain Fraser In this article we explore some issues surrounding the use of farm-level efficiency and productivity estimates for benchmarking studies. Using an eight-year balanced panel of Victorian wool producers we analyse annual variation between estimates of farm-level technical efficiency derived using Data Envelopment Analysis and Malmquist estimates of Total Factor Productivity. We find that farms change their relative rank in terms of efficiency across years. Also, unlike aggregate studies of Total Factor Productivity, we find at best erratic and modest growth, a worrying result for this industry. However, caution is needed when interpreting these results, and for that matter, benchmarking analysis as currently practised when using frontier estimation techniques like Data Envelopment Analysis. [source] Measuring Efficiency: A Comparison of Multilevel Modelling and Data Envelopment Analysis in the Context of Higher EducationBULLETIN OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH, Issue 2 2006Jill JohnesArticle first published online: 15 MAR 200 I21; C14; C16 Abstract Data envelopment analysis (DEA) and multilevel modelling (MLM) are applied to a data set of 54,564 graduates from UK universities in 1993 to assess whether the choice of technique affects the measurement of universities' performance. A methodology developed by Thanassoulis and Portela (2002; Education Economics, 10(2), pp. 183,207) allows each individual's DEA efficiency score to be decomposed into two components: one attributable to the university at which the student studied and the other attributable to the individual student. From the former component, a measure of each institution's teaching efficiency is derived and compared to the university effects from various multilevel models. The comparisons are made within four broad subjects: pure science, applied science, social science and arts. The results show that the rankings of universities derived from the DEA efficiencies which measure the universities' own performance (i.e., having excluded the efforts of the individuals) are not strongly correlated with the university rankings derived from the university effects of the multilevel models. The data were also used to perform a university-level DEA. The university efficiency scores derived from these DEAs are largely unrelated to the scores from the individual-level DEAs, confirming a result from a smaller data set (Johnes, 2006a; European Journal of Operational Research, forthcoming). However, the university-level DEAs provide efficiency scores which are generally strongly related to the university effects of the multilevel models. [source] East,west: does it make a difference to hospital efficiencies in Ukraine?HEALTH ECONOMICS, Issue 11 2006Anatoly I. Pilyavsky Abstract Ukraine's history has given it a split personality (e.g. divergent cultural influences on economic and managerial behavior), as was observed in the recent political developments both prior to and following the December 2004 elections. Eastern regions were heavily influenced by Russo-Soviet rule, while western regions have more of a European outlook. This study, which is largely exploratory, compares recent trends in hospital efficiency in Ukraine to see if this split personality manifests itself in differential rates of improvement. Given the inflexibility of Soviet-style planned economies, it is hypothesized that western regions will show greater improvement in economic efficiency that can be attributed to higher levels of managerial and medical entrepreneurship. Data for this study comes from three oblasts (i.e. geopolitical regions), one in the west and two in the east, spanning from 1997 to 2001. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) was used to estimate technical efficiency for the hospitals. After correcting for bias, a second,stage Tobit regression was estimated. Results indicate that hospitals in the west improved efficiencies, while those in the east stayed constant. These western areas of the nation, being more amenable to western management and medical ,business' practice, may be quicker to pick up on new techniques to increase healthcare delivery efficiencies. This may stem from the more limited effects of a shorter history of incorporation into a Soviet-style planned and controlled economy in which individual decision-making and entrepreneurship was suppressed in favor of central decision-making by the state. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Benchmarking productive efficiency of selected wheat areas in Pakistan and India using data envelopment analysis,IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE, Issue 4 2006Naeem M. Malana MEG (/DEA); analyse comparative; productivité de l'irrigation; productivité; blé; Pakistan; Inde Abstract Food demand is bound to increase significantly in future as a result of a growing world population. As a large proportion of the available land and water resources have been developed, there is limited scope for further increase in the use of these resources. Thus future increases in food production will originate from improvements in performance of existing agriculture rather than development of new resources. It is anticipated that wheat demand in the South Asia will rise significantly in future. In order to increase production and overcome diminishing water availability for irrigation, performance of wheat farms must increase. This paper describes the process of benchmarking the productive efficiency of wheat in selected areas of Pakistan and India. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is used to evaluate and rank productivity performance of wheat growing areas in both countries based on three inputs: irrigation (m3,ha,1), seed (kg,ha,1) and fertiliser use (kg,ha,1). The results of analysis show that DEA is an effective tool for analysing and benchmarking productive efficiency of agricultural units. Ranking of productive efficiency based on three inputs is also shown to differ significantly from that based on a single resource (irrigation). Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. La demande de nourriture est appelée à augmenter de façon significative du fait de la croissance de la population mondiale. Une forte proportion des ressources en terre et en eau ayant déjà été utilisée, leur potentiel d'accroissement est faible. La production supplémentaire de nourriture devra donc venir de l'amélioration des performances de l'agriculture plutôt que du développement de nouvelles ressources. Il est prévu que la demande de blé en Asie du Sud-Est augmente significativement dans le future. Afin d'augmenter la production et de surmonter la raréfaction de l'eau pour l'irrigation, la performance de la culture du blé doit progresser. Cet article décrit le processus d'analyse comparative appliquée à la productivité de certaines zones à blé du Pakistan et de l'Inde. La Méthode d'Enveloppe Graphique (MEG) est utilisée pour évaluer et classer les productivités des zones à blé de ces deux pays sur la base de trois intrants: l'irrigation (m3/ha), les semences (kg/ha) et les engrais (kg/ha). Les résultats de l'analyse montrent que la MEG est un outil efficace pour l'analyse comparative des productivités d'exploitations agricoles. Le classement des productivités à partir de trois intrants est également différent de celui obtenu à partir d'une seule ressource (l'irrigation). Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Effects of machinery-sharing arrangements on farm efficiency: evidence from SwedenAGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, Issue 5 2010Karin Larsén Machinery-sharing; Partnerships; Data envelopment analysis Abstract The effects of partnerships, in the form of machinery-sharing arrangements, on farm efficiency are analyzed using data for Swedish crop and livestock farms. Efficiency scores are obtained using Data Envelopment Analysis and the findings suggest that efficiency is, on average, higher among partnership farms compared to nonpartnership farms. Moreover, partnership farms that are characterized by the most extensive form of collaboration, that is, that share all machinery with one or several other farms, display the highest average efficiency. In a two-stage procedure in which efficiency determinants are analyzed in the second stage, the bootstrap procedures suggested by Simar and Wilson (2007) are applied in addition to the conventionally used Tobit regression. Participation in partnership arrangements is found to have a positive and statistically significant impact on farm efficiency. [source] DEA models for two-stage processes: Game approach and efficiency decompositionNAVAL RESEARCH LOGISTICS: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 7 2008Liang Liang Abstract Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a method for measuring the efficiency of peer decision making units (DMUs). This tool has been utilized by a number of authors to examine two-stage processes, where all the outputs from the first stage are the only inputs to the second stage. The current article examines and extends these models using game theory concepts. The resulting models are linear, and imply an efficiency decomposition where the overall efficiency of the two-stage process is a product of the efficiencies of the two individual stages. When there is only one intermediate measure connecting the two stages, both the noncooperative and centralized models yield the same results as applying the standard DEA model to the two stages separately. As a result, the efficiency decomposition is unique. While the noncooperative approach yields a unique efficiency decomposition under multiple intermediate measures, the centralized approach is likely to yield multiple decompositions. Models are developed to test whether the efficiency decomposition arising from the centralized approach is unique. The relations among the noncooperative, centralized, and standard DEA approaches are investigated. Two real world data sets and a randomly generated data set are used to demonstrate the models and verify our findings. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2008 [source] NEW ZEALAND CREDIT UNION MERGERSANNALS OF PUBLIC AND COOPERATIVE ECONOMICS, Issue 3 2010Lynn Mcalevey ABSTRACT,:,Research into the benefits of mergers in small financial institutions, in particular credit unions, is sparse. This study helps to fill this gap by analyzing recent intense merger activity in New Zealand credit unions. The major driver for these mergers was not the usual reason of attempting to increase efficiency for competitive purposes but rather enforced government action. Data envelopment analysis is used to explore changes in efficiency in merged credit unions between 1996 and 2001. Those credit unions not involved in merger activity are used as a control group. Overall, credit unions have become more efficient over the period, notably in those that undertook mergers. The Malmquist index indicates significant technological progress over the period but a slight regression in terms of efficiency. [source] Measuring Efficiency: A Comparison of Multilevel Modelling and Data Envelopment Analysis in the Context of Higher EducationBULLETIN OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH, Issue 2 2006Jill JohnesArticle first published online: 15 MAR 200 I21; C14; C16 Abstract Data envelopment analysis (DEA) and multilevel modelling (MLM) are applied to a data set of 54,564 graduates from UK universities in 1993 to assess whether the choice of technique affects the measurement of universities' performance. A methodology developed by Thanassoulis and Portela (2002; Education Economics, 10(2), pp. 183,207) allows each individual's DEA efficiency score to be decomposed into two components: one attributable to the university at which the student studied and the other attributable to the individual student. From the former component, a measure of each institution's teaching efficiency is derived and compared to the university effects from various multilevel models. The comparisons are made within four broad subjects: pure science, applied science, social science and arts. The results show that the rankings of universities derived from the DEA efficiencies which measure the universities' own performance (i.e., having excluded the efforts of the individuals) are not strongly correlated with the university rankings derived from the university effects of the multilevel models. The data were also used to perform a university-level DEA. The university efficiency scores derived from these DEAs are largely unrelated to the scores from the individual-level DEAs, confirming a result from a smaller data set (Johnes, 2006a; European Journal of Operational Research, forthcoming). However, the university-level DEAs provide efficiency scores which are generally strongly related to the university effects of the multilevel models. [source] Has Minority Foreign Investment in China's Banks Improved Their Cost Efficiency?CHINA AND WORLD ECONOMY, Issue 3 2008James Laurenceson C24; D24; F21; G21 Abstract Since 2001, foreign investors have been permitted to acquire minority ownership stakes in China's banks. This paper assesses whether there is any evidence of a cost efficiency payoff in those banks that have taken on foreign investment. Data envelopment analysis is first used to generate measures of cost efficiency for China's banks over the period 2001,2006. A second stage regression is then performed to determine whether foreign investment has an impact on cost efficiency. The results indicate a positive relationship, although one that is not statistically significant. Policy implications are discussed. [source] Production Efficiency and the Pricing of Audit Services,CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTING RESEARCH, Issue 1 2003Nicholas Dopuch Abstract In this paper, we examine the relative efficiency of audit production by one of the then Big 6 public accounting firms for a sample of 247 geographically dispersed audits of U.S. companies performed in 1989. To test the relative efficiency of audit production, we use both stochastic frontier estimation (SFE) and data envelopment analysis (DEA). A feature of our research is that we also test whether any apparent inefficiencies in production, identified using SFE and DEA, are correlated with audit pricing. That is, do apparent inefficiencies cause the public accounting firm to reduce its unit price (billing rate) per hour of labor utilized on an engagement? With respect to results, we do not find any evidence of relative (within-sample) inefficiencies in the use of partner, manager, senior, or staff labor hours using SFE. This suggests that the SFE model may not be sufficiently powerful to detect inefficiencies, even with our reasonably large sample size. However, we do find apparent inefficiencies using the DEA model. Audits range from about 74 percent to 100 percent relative efficiency in production, while the average audit is produced at about an 88 percent efficiency level, relative to the most efficient audits in the sample. Moreover, the inefficiencies identified using DEA are correlated with the firm's realization rate. That is, average billing rates per hour fall as the amount of inefficiency increases. Our results suggest that there are moderate inefficiencies in the production of many of the subject public accounting firm's audits, and that such inefficiencies are economically costly to the firm. [source] Ownership,efficiency relationship and the measurement selection biasACCOUNTING & FINANCE, Issue 5 2006Richard Bozec G32; H11; L33 Abstract This study analyses the bias in the selection of performance measures for ownership comparisons, which depends on the specific objectives of the firms being compared. Our sample includes 13 Canadian state-owned enterprises (SOEs), commercialized and/or privatized between 1976 and 2001. To replace profitability measures and reduce biases, we propose the use of technical efficiency, which provides for SOEs' specificities. Overall, the results clearly support the view that privatization has no impact on a firm's technical efficiency, the only positive impact being related to a change in the objectives of the firm while using profitability measures. The results of this study raise the question of the validity of comparisons between SOEs and private firms when using profitability indicators. The potential bias in favour of the private firms contributes to a misleading image of the public sector being presented as inferior and inefficient. The use of more sophisticated measures, such as data envelopment analysis, suggests conflicting conclusions. This study also casts doubt on the legitimacy of the privatization program initiated around the world and more specifically in Canada in which the main justification for such a reform has been to increase the performance of SOEs. [source] Evaluating the efficiency of a small hotel chain with a Malmquist productivity indexINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM RESEARCH, Issue 3 2005Carlos Pestana Barros Abstract By applying data envelopment analysis (DEA) a two-stage procedure is followed to evaluate the determinants of efficiency of a Portuguese public-owned hotel chain, Enatur for the period 1999 to 2001. In the first stage the paper estimates the Malmquist index and breaks it down into technical efficiency and technological change. In the second stage, a Tobit econometric model, designed to relate efficiency scores, along with other managerial and contextual variables, is used to identify the efficiency drivers. The implications of this study for managerial purposes are then discussed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] A decision support methodology for increasing public investment efficiency in Brazilian agrarian reformINTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONS IN OPERATIONAL RESEARCH, Issue 1 2009Leonardo Melgarejo Abstract The Brazilian Agrarian Reform Program has subsidized the settlement of over 425,000 destitute families on previously unproductive land in what has become a very effective vehicle for social inclusion and productivity growth for those settlers who reach the final stage of the process and receive definitive title to the land. Unfortunately, there is a large difference in efficiency and productivity between more and less successful settlements , fewer than 10% of relocated families have received title and over 25% of them have abandoned the property to which they were assigned. This paper presents a decision support methodology for increasing the efficiency of public investments in agrarian reform that includes a data envelopment analysis model and a mechanism for building consensus among the various constituencies of the agrarian reform process, who not infrequently have conflicting objectives. The OR model described herein uses principal component analysis and data envelopment analysis to identify the most important success factors for relocated families leading to an increase in the chance of both autonomous integration with the market economy and definitive entitlement by these displaced families as well as an increase in the predictability of future settlement success. The model was implemented successfully in Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state of Brazil, and was partially used in a pilot project for the countrywide agrarian reform accelerated consolidation program. [source] Use of nonparametric statistical tests in defining the number of periods to include in an intertemporal DEA analysisINTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONS IN OPERATIONAL RESEARCH, Issue 3 2007Taraneh Sowlati Abstract In any type of intertemporal efficiency analyses either locally or globally, units in different periods are compared against each other, and therefore it is assumed that no frontier shift exists within the periods of study. This assumption extends in window analysis to each window. In almost all studies in the past, the number of periods included in an intertemporal data envelopment analysis or the width of a window in a window analysis is determined without validating this assumption analytically. This is a problem which has not been fully addressed in the literature. This paper presents a new approach using nonparametric statistical tests to examine a frontier shift and determine the number of periods to include in an intertemporal analysis. The case of sawmills in Vancouver, Canada is used to demonstrate how to apply this new approach. [source] Assessing the efficiency of irrigation water users' associations and its determinants: evidence from Tunisia,IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE, Issue 5 2009Aymen Frija association d'usagers de l'eau; irrigation; efficacité; data envelopment analyies Abstract This article analyses the efficiency of water users' associations (WUAs) in the Cap Bon region of Tunisia and studies its main determinants. The analysis is performed in two stages. First, the efficiency is measured via the non-parametric "data envelopment analysis" (DEA) technique. The DEA models are constructed not only to assess the overall WUA efficiency but also to evaluate the management and engineering sub-vector efficiencies separately through a mathematical modification in the initial DEA model. In a second stage critical technical and organizational determinants of efficiencies are assessed using a Tobit model. Results show that on average, 18.7% of the used inputs could be saved if the WUAs operated on the frontier. The inefficiencies found can furthermore be mainly attributed to the number of years of experience in operating a WUA, in addition to the number of water pipes managed and the irrigation ratio. The average scale efficiency, which can be calculated as the ratio between constant and variable returns to scale efficiencies, was around 71%, indicating that many WUAs are not operating at an efficient scale. The scale inefficiencies result mainly from administrative and organizational variables. Sub-vector efficiencies show that on average, the inefficiency of WUAs is more linked with inefficiency in expenditures related to their internal management and functioning, than to engineering inefficiencies. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Ce travail analyse l'efficacité des associations d'usagers de l'eau (AUE) d'irrigation dans la région du Cap Bon (Tunisie) et étudie ses principaux déterminants. L'analyse est effectuée en deux étapes. Dans la première, l'efficacité est mesurée par le biais de la technique non paramétrique «Data Envelopment Analysis» (DEA). Des modèles DEA ont été construits pour calculer l'efficacité globale ainsi que l'efficacité de gestion et l'efficacité de maintenance. Dans la deuxième étape, les déterminants techniques et organisationnels des efficacités calculées sont recensés à l'aide d'un modèle Tobit. Les résultats montrent qu'en moyenne 18,7% des dépenses totales des AUE pourraient être économisés si toutes les associations étaient gérées à l'optimum. Les inefficacités sont liées principalement au nombre d'années d'expérience des AUE, au nombre de bornes gérées et au ratio des superficies irriguées. L'efficacité d'échelle moyenne de l'échantillon étudié est de 71%, indiquant que plusieurs AUE ne sont pas gérées à une échelle pertinente. Les inefficacités d'échelles sont principalement liées à des variables administratives et organisationnelles. Les résultats montrent aussi, qu'en moyenne, l'efficacité des AUE est plus affectée par leurs dépenses de gestion et de fonctionnement interne que par leurs activités de maintenance et d'entretien. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||