This volume discusses the latest techniques and their economic applications for modern industries like computer, pharmaceutical, banking and other manufacturing. Both econometric and mathematical programming techniques are analyzed so as to develop a synthetic approach.

Data envelopment analysis develops a set of nonparametric and semiparametric techniques for measuring economic efficiency among firms and nonprofit organizations. Over the past decade this technique has found most widespread applications in public sector organizations. However these applications have been mostly static. This monograph extends this static framework of efficiency analysis in several new directions. These include but are not limited to the following: (1) a dynamic view of the production and cost frontier, where capital inputs are treated differently from the current inputs, (2) a direct role of the technological progress and regress, which is so often stressed in total factor productivity discussion in modem growth theory in economics, (3) stochastic efficiency in a dynamic setting, where reliability improvement competes with technical efficiency, (4) flexible manufacturing systems, where flexibility of the production process and the economies of scope play an important role in efficiency analysis and (5) the role of economic factors such as externalities and input interdependences. Efficiency is viewed here in the framework of a general systems theory model. Such a view is intended to broaden the scope of applications of this promising new technique of data envelopment analysis. The monograph stresses the various applied aspects of the dynamic theory, so that it can be empirically implemented in different situations. As far as possible abstract mathematical treatments are avoided and emphasis placed on the statistical examples and empirical illustrations.

This second edition systematically presents the underlying theory, model development, and applications of network Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). It discusses the models used to measure the efficiency of systems in specific network structures and introduces readers to the latest applications. It demonstrates how the “network DEA” approach helps identify and manage the specific components that cause inefficiencies in the overall system. The existing models for measuring the efficiency of systems in specific network structures are also discussed, and the relationships between system efficiency and component efficiency are explored. Moreover, the book provides an advanced exposition on performance evaluation of systems with network structures. It explores the networked nature of most production and operation systems, and explains why network analyses are necessary. Accordingly, the book will inspire new research and applications based on the state of the art. In this new edition, the latest research advances and discoveries are discussed. Two new chapters on Linkage Efficiency and External and Internal Evaluations have been added. This book is mainly aimed at researchers and graduate students who are interested in performance evaluation, DEA, and multi-criteria decision analysis. Practitioners who want to measure the performance of production, operation, or any type of decision-making units will also find it useful.