The Range Adjusted Measure (RAM) in DEA: Comment

Journal of Productivity Analysis -     

Measures in DEA with an Application to the Malmquist Index

This paper shows the importance of goal vectors G in measuring and dealing with DEA inefficiencies. It emphasizes the advantages of the family of additive relative to the traditional oriented DEA models and shifts the primary emphasis to measuring inefficiency rather than efficiency. This new (raw) inefficiency measure RIN incorporates both the traditional DEA efficiency and the DEA slacks and provides the background for a new approach to the Malmquist Index. The final section points out some deficiencies in existing computational procedures for selecting G and calls for continued research on the selection process, as well as showing a role for G in returns to scale studies.     

The Range Adjusted Measure (RAM) in DEA: A Response to the Comment by Steinmann and Zweifel

Journal of Productivity Analysis -     

Marginal Rates and Elasticities of Substitution with Additive Models in DEA

Marginal rates and elasticities of substitution are derived from the optimal slack values obtained from modified versions of additive DEA models. Projection formulas are used to ensure that all points are on the efficient frontier as required for conformance with assumptions in micro-economics. The models used differ from standard versions in that slack values are allowed to be negative as well as positive in these additive models. This makes movement possible on efficiency frontiers, where improvement in some inputs or outputs requires worsening other inputs or outputs. A new definition is therefore introduced in which efficiency is attained only if the value of the worsenings is exactly offset by the value of the improvements. This includes, but is not restricted to, the case in which all slacks must be zero for full attainment of efficiency—as in standard versions of additive models.     

A response to the critiques of DEA by Dmitruk and Koshevoy, and Bol

We here critique the articles by Dmitruk & Koshevoy (1991, J Econ Theory 55:121–144) and by Bol (1986, J Econ Theory 38:380–385) by showing how to solve the examples they erected to show the non-existence of functions for evaluating performance efficiencies in DEA. We also show that functions satisfying these criteria—and other important criteria as well—were already available prior to the publications of D&K and by Bol and have since been greatly extended to increase the power and scope of DEA.

Finding Closest Targets in Non-Oriented DEA Models: The Case of Convex and Non-Convex Technologies

This paper draws attention for the fact that traditional Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) models do not provide the closest possible targets (or peers) to inefficient units, and presents a procedure to obtain such targets.It focuses on non-oriented efficiency measures (which assume that production units are able to control, and thus change, inputs and outputs simultaneously) both measured in relation to a Free Disposal Hull (FDH) technology and in relation to a convex technology. The approaches developed for finding close targets are applied to a sample of Portuguese bank branches.     

Testing for Intermediate Outputs in Dynamic DEA Models: Accounting for Soil Capital in Rotational Crop Production and Productivity Measures

Inagricultural production, a stylized fact known as the rotationeffect says crop rotations generate higher yields or productivitythan identical crops grown in isolated monocultures. This paperdevelops a dynamic data envelopment analysis (DEA) model of cropproduction that accounts for the rotation effect. The model isapplied to data from an experimental farm in Pennsylvania toinvestigate the role soil capital plays in observed productivitygrowth and the rotation effect.     

A new methodology to measure efficiencies of inputs (outputs) of decision making units in Data Envelopment Analysis with application to agriculture

This paper aims at developing a new methodology to measure and decompose global DMU efficiency into efficiency of inputs (or outputs). The basic idea rests on the fact that global DMU's efficiency score might be misleading when managers proceed to reallocate their inputs or redefine their outputs. Literature provides a basic measure for global DMU's efficiency score. A revised model was developed for measuring efficiencies of global DMUs and their inputs (or outputs) efficiency components, based on a hypothesis of virtual DMUs. The present paper suggests a method for measuring global DMU efficiency simultaneously with its efficiencies of inputs components, that we call Input decomposition DEA model (ID-DEA), and its efficiencies of outputs components, that we call output decomposition DEA model (OD-DEA). These twin models differ from Supper efficiency model (SE-DEA) and Common Set Weights model (CSW-DEA). The twin models (ID-DEA, OD-DEA) were applied to agricultural farms, and the results gave different efficiency scores of inputs (or outputs), and at the same time, global DMU's efficiency score was given by the Charnes, Cooper and Rhodes (Charnes et al., 1978) [1], CCR78 model. The rationale of our new hypothesis and model is the fact that managers don't have the same information level about all inputs and outputs that constraint them to manage resources by the (global) efficiency scores. Then each input/output has a different reality depending on the manager's decision in relationship to information available at the time of decision. This paper decomposes global DMU's efficiency into input (or output) components' efficiencies. Each component will have its score instead of a global DMU score. These findings would improve management decision making about reallocating inputs and redefining outputs. Concerning policy implications of the DEA twin models, they help policy makers to assess, ameliorate and reorient their strategies and execute programs towards enhancing the best practices and minimising losses.     

A combination of QFD and imprecise DEA with enhanced Russell graph measure: A case study in healthcare

Quality function deployment (QFD) is a proven tool for process and product development, which translates the voice of customer (VoC) into engineering characteristics (EC), and prioritizes the ECs, in terms of customer's requirements. Traditionally, QFD rates the design requirements (DRs) with respect to customer needs, and aggregates the ratings to get relative importance scores of DRs. An increasing number of studies stress on the need to incorporate additional factors, such as cost and environmental impact, while calculating the relative importance of DRs. However, there is a paucity of methodologies for deriving the relative importance of DRs when several additional factors are considered. Ramanathan and Yunfeng [43] proved that the relative importance values computed by data envelopment analysis (DEA) coincide with traditional QFD calculations when only the ratings of DRs with respect to customer needs are considered, and only one additional factor, namely cost, is considered. Also, Kamvysi et al. [27] discussed the combination of QFD with analytic hierarchy process–analytic network process (AHP–ANP) and DEAHP–DEANP methodologies to prioritize selection criteria in a service context. The objective of this paper is to propose a QFD–imprecise enhanced Russell graph measure (QFD–IERGM) for incorporating the criteria such as cost of services and implementation easiness in QFD. Proposed model is applied in an Iranian hospital.     

Functional Forms of Stochastic Frontier Production Functions and Models for Technical Inefficiency Effects: A Comparative Study for Wheat Farmers in Pakistan

This paper considers translog and Cobb-Douglas stochastic frontiers in which the technical inefficiency effects are defined by three different models. The models involved are the time-varying inefficiency model, proposed by Battese and Coelli (1992), the inefficiency effects model for panel data, proposed by Battese and Coelli (1995), and the non-neutral frontier model, proposed by Huang and Liu (1994). Technical change is also accounted for in the frontier models. Predicted technical efficiencies of the wheat farmers and estimates of the elasticities of wheat production with respect to the different inputs and the returns-to-scale parameter are compared under the different model specifications.     

加强内涵建设 提升办学水平——汉中职业技术学院加强内涵建设的举措与建议

近年来,高职教育进入了蓬勃发展的新阶段,伴随着办学规模的扩张,专业数量的增加,高职院校的内涵建设亟待加强。内涵建设是提升办学水平、实现高职教育可持续发展灵魂工程。抓内涵建设就要坚持就业导向,树立为区域社会经济服务的思想,面向社会办教育,围绕产业设专业,加强行业企业的联系与合作,创新办学模式,凝练专业品牌,彰显办学特色。     

河北隆化县山洪灾害防御非工程措施建设成效分析

为进一步防御山洪灾害,减少灾害损失,隆化县开展了以监测预警系统、完善防御预案、宣传防御知识、提高全民防灾避灾意识等为建设内容的山洪灾害防御非工程措施项目建设。文章分析了项目建设所采取的措施以及取得的成效,提出了建议。     

新型城镇化引导下的西部地区县域城乡空间重构研究——以青海省都兰县为例

首先梳理新型城镇化与城乡空间重构关系,在分析都兰县城乡空间现状基础之后,分析了新型城镇化对都兰县空间重构的要求,提出了以功能提升优化城乡空间结构、以产业发展促进城乡空间增长、以基础设施建设促进空间集聚、以质量提升强化城乡空间管治的县域城乡重构机制,并对县域、城镇、工矿区、乡村中心社区等的空间重构发展模式进行了探索和研究。     

城市传统菜市场的地方芭蕾与地方感研究——以成都市青羊小区菜市场为例

在传统菜市场日趋式微的背景下,基于消费者视角对城市传统菜市场给予观照,运用地方芭蕾和地方感理论,通过问卷调查和深入访谈,探讨消费者的日常菜市场行为特征与模式以及由此形塑的多元地方意义。研究发现,消费者将传统菜市场纳入到居家、工作、休闲等日常生活轨迹中,形成三种富有时空韵律的惯常模式;通过个体化的生活习惯和时空轨迹,形塑出丰富多样的"地方芭蕾";在人与菜市场空间的互动中,菜市场也被赋予多元价值和意义,生发出地方依赖、地方依恋和地方认同三个维度的地方感。据此进一步讨论了作为传统日常生活空间的菜市场在当代城市中的作用及其对城市未来发展的启示。     

“Waiting for Life to Arrive”: A history of the regression-discontinuity design in Psychology,Statistics and Economics

This paper reviews the history of the regression discontinuity design in three academic disciplines. It describes the design's birth and subsequent demise in Psychology even though most problems with it had been solved there. It further describes the scant interest shown in the design by scholars formally trained in Statistics, and the design's poor reception in Economics from 1972 until about 1995, when its profile and acceptance changed. Reasons are given for this checkered history that is characterized as waiting for life to arrive.     

Stuck at a workplace: What’s work control,demands and learning got to do with it? A longitudinal multilevel study on Swedish permanent employees in situations of ‘workplace locked-in’

Abstract

Whilst health consequences of being locked-in at the workplace have been documented in several research studies, it is largely unknown how work characteristics and their changes over time relate to risks for becoming locked-in at a certain workplace. Accordingly, this paper studied how perceived control, learning opportunities and quantitative demands at work associate with workplace-locked-in (WPLI). The study included permanent employees who participated in the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH) study in wave 3 through 5 (n = 2918 individuals; n = 7460 observations). Results from multi-level analysis show that there was significant individual variation in WPLI changes over time, even though on average, WPLI decreased slightly. Differences in work characteristics between individuals (L2) and across time (L1) associated significantly with WPLI: higher levels of job control and learning opportunities related to lower odds ratios for WPLI, whereas higher quantitative job demands associated with higher odds ratios of WPLI. Moreover, differences in quantitative job demands, number of job changes and educational achievements explained the individual variations of WPLI developments over time. The result shows that WPLI can – to some extent – be prevented or reduced through good work design, and implications for HR managers and organizations are discussed.