A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
Strengths and weaknesses of data envelopment analysis: An urban and regional perspective
AbstractThe popularity of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) as a tool for examining the technical efficiency of “decision making units” (DMUs) has spread widely and rapidly since its original introduction in Rhodes (1978) and Charnes, Cooper, and Rhodes (1978). The enthusiasm for DEA, however, has not been universal. Detractors have criticized it on a number of methodological and substantive grounds, some of the most recent and heated discussions being found in Evans and Heckman (1988), Frank (1988), and Schmidt (1986). Many of the criticisms and the rebuttals they have provoked can be attributed to fundamentally different perspectives of the researchers—people who range from econometricians to management scientists—and the distinctly different purposes to which the models are applied (Lovell & Sickles, in press). In this paper, we adopt a pragmatic perspective and—while neither damning DEA nor offering it as a panacea for productivity analysis—seek to underscore some of its strengths as well as its weaknesses. A review of the DEA literature would show that this is the same circumspect and pragmatic spirit that animated the earliest research in this area (see Rhodes, 1978).While speculating on promising applications of DEA to urban and regional analysis in such disciplines as planning, geography, and regional science, we review the basic logic of the method, and highlight the key features it offers analysts interested in examining the relative technical efficiency of DMUs. Some statistical and information-theoretic concerns center on what appears to be DEA's underutilization of potentially useful empirical information. Building on Banker (in press) we suggest how DEA can be viewed both in the light of more conventional statistical methods and as an informative and useful tool for systematic sensitivity analysis. Finally, we draw from practical experience to point out some additional concerns and considerations in applying DEA.
Strengths and weaknesses of data envelopment analysis: An urban and regional perspective
AbstractThe popularity of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) as a tool for examining the technical efficiency of “decision making units” (DMUs) has spread widely and rapidly since its original introduction in Rhodes (1978) and Charnes, Cooper, and Rhodes (1978). The enthusiasm for DEA, however, has not been universal. Detractors have criticized it on a number of methodological and substantive grounds, some of the most recent and heated discussions being found in Evans and Heckman (1988), Frank (1988), and Schmidt (1986). Many of the criticisms and the rebuttals they have provoked can be attributed to fundamentally different perspectives of the researchers—people who range from econometricians to management scientists—and the distinctly different purposes to which the models are applied (Lovell & Sickles, in press). In this paper, we adopt a pragmatic perspective and—while neither damning DEA nor offering it as a panacea for productivity analysis—seek to underscore some of its strengths as well as its weaknesses. A review of the DEA literature would show that this is the same circumspect and pragmatic spirit that animated the earliest research in this area (see Rhodes, 1978).While speculating on promising applications of DEA to urban and regional analysis in such disciplines as planning, geography, and regional science, we review the basic logic of the method, and highlight the key features it offers analysts interested in examining the relative technical efficiency of DMUs. Some statistical and information-theoretic concerns center on what appears to be DEA's underutilization of potentially useful empirical information. Building on Banker (in press) we suggest how DEA can be viewed both in the light of more conventional statistical methods and as an informative and useful tool for systematic sensitivity analysis. Finally, we draw from practical experience to point out some additional concerns and considerations in applying DEA.
Strengths and weaknesses of data envelopment analysis: An urban and regional perspective
Stolp, Chandler (author)
Computers, Environments and Urban Systems ; 14 ; 103-116
1990-01-01
14 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
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