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Since in Argentina the Primary Health Care Centers (CAPS) are financed by public funds, the analysis of their efficiency becomes relevant in order to propose improvements in their performance. In this work, DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) is applied to evaluate the technical efficiency of CAPS operating in a city in the interior of Argentina. For this, the CAPS are grouped according to the available specialties (nursing, medical clinic and pediatrics) and the following are used: a DEA BCC (Banker, Charnes y Cooper) output oriented model and a Super-efficiency model to evaluate the technical efficiency in each group. The results differ between the groups. In the CAPS that offer the 3 specialties, most are efficient. On the contrary, in the CAPS that have an infirmary and a medical clinic, as well as those that only have an infirmary, most of the CAPS are considered inefficient. It is concluded that it is possible to improve the efficiency in the use of public resources assigned to the first level of care in the city, based on the increase in the number of consultations or the reduction in the number of working hours, which would allow improving the access to health care for the most vulnerable population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of the efficiency of health units contributes to design strategies for attaining better results with the available resources. The objective was to develop an algorithm for measuring the efficiency at a health care institution, in order to identify the units with better productive practice; and to impel the productive efficiency by means of the incorporation of management processes of benchmarking. The algorithm developed was made on the basis of bibliographic revision and the knowledge of experts. Qualitative and quantitative techniques were combined in the algorithm. It was applied to measure the efficiency of centers of health of Tabasco, Mexico and the efficiency of polyclinics of the provinces of Cienfuegos and Matanzas, Cuba. 15 operations were defined. Data Envelopment Analysis was the technique used to measure the efficiency. More 50% of the studied units were inefficient. In all the inefficient units, potential areas for improving the efficiency and references units were found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is no competitiveness problem when there are no competitors. For that reason, differentiation constitutes a key strategy for the company; then it contributes to generate a captive market for the product reducing this way its competition. Supposing that differentiation is not possible, costs and efficiency appear as the only possible way (Esteban y Coll, 2003). Focusing the attention in the last one, this paper analyzes -by employing a non parametric methodology: the data envelopment analysis (DEA)- the technical efficiency of textile industry in Spain. For that, we have studied a group of companies of each and every activity that constitute the textile industry following the classification CNAE93. The evaluation has been done from financial-economic information obtained from the profit and losses account and balance sheet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]