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Rail freight is one of the most important pillars for the decarbonising of the transport system in Europe. To ensure the decarbonisation effect of rail freight, a substantial modal split on rail freight is needed, with the aim of strengthening the competitiveness of rail freight and improving the quality of service on the rail freight corridors (RFCs). With the aim of monitoring and evaluating the development of RFC performance, the Data Envelopment Analysis model (DEA) was applied in this study. The evaluation of efficiency was carried out for eight RFCs in 2020 and 2021 using performance indicators considered with Pearson correlation analysis. The results of the efficiency of the RFCs showed that seven of the studied corridors are not operated efficiently, while the correlation analysis showed a significant dependency between the selected indicators. Nevertheless, the efficiency of the corridors and the overall performance of rail freight can be improved by integrating innovative technologies. Therefore, this study also investigated how digital automatic couplers (DACs) and intelligent video gates (IVGs) affect the efficiency of RFCs. The results show that the inclusion of indicators related to DAC and IVG tasks has a positive impact on improving the efficiency of RFCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reduction of poverty or social exclusion belongs to the priorities of the EU countries defined in the Europe 2020 Strategy. This priority was defined as being interrelated with the priorities focused on employment and education. Numbers of people living in poverty varied between the EU countries, which also varied in the progress towards achieving their national targets concerning poverty reduction. The aim of the paper was to assess the EU countries with respect to the prevalence of poverty and its determinants in the context of the priorities of the Europe 2020 Strategy. Two methods were used to meet the aim of the paper – the correlation analysis and the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), including also the Malmquist Index. Results of the DEA revealed that all EU countries were not assessed as being fully efficient. A number of efficient countries first declined between the years 2008-2010, then it started to increase and reached the maximum value in 2017. Between the years 2010-2014, 11 countries improved their productivity, but between the years 2017-2019, improvement was identified only for five countries. Results of correlation analysis confirmed the importance of policies focused on households’ incomes and employment for the successful reduction of poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of sports tourism has compelled sports managers to rethink the management and improvement of sports facilities. Through service quality analysis, sports managers can identify the strengths and weaknesses of their activities for possible advancement. Hence, this study aims to develop a decision support model based on integrating online reviews and data envelopment analysis to measure the degree of tourist satisfaction and provide benchmarking goals for service improvement. The proposed model employs text mining techniques to discover service quality attributes from text reviews. According to the discovered service quality attributes, we conduct sentiment analysis to reveal the sentiment polarities of the text reviews. Then, we refine the polarities and ratings of online reviews into linguistic distribution assessments. Furthermore, we develop a linguistic distribution output-oriented non-discretionary bestpoint slack-based measure (BP-SBM) to compute the degree of tourist satisfaction and benchmarking goals. The linguistic distribution output-oriented non-discretionary BP-SBM can handle both positive and negative data values, thus overcoming the flaws of the traditional model. Meanwhile, the proposed decision support model investigates how the service-quality attributes interact to provide improvement pathways for an underperforming stadium based on association rule mining. We test the applicability of the proposed decision support model on some Elite stadia in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the relationship between logistics, intermodality and airport efficiency. To this end, using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), the efficiency of the 21 largest European airports has been estimated over the 2009–2014 period. In a second stage, this research analyses the effect of Logistics and Modal Integration on airport efficiency. The airport's ability to compete globally depends, greatly, on the passengers and cargo' access to efficient networks. The results show evidence of the positive impact of the quality of the national logistics system on Airport efficiency. The effect of Logistics on overall airport efficiency is estimated at 0.15% for every 1% increase in the Logistic Performance (LPI), ceteris paribus. Furthermore, airports that have a direct link to a High-Speed Rail (HSR) network are expected to perform, on average, 27 per cent above the rest of the airports. Finally, airports that offer more facilities to optimise the interface between airport and aircraft are expected to achieve higher efficiency levels. • Airport's ability to compete globally depends on the access to efficient networks. • This paper find evidence of the positive impact of the quality of the national logistics system on Airport efficiency. • The effect of Logistics on airport efficiency is estimated at 0.15% for every 1% increase in the Logistic Performance. • Having Direct link to a High-Speed Rail (HSR) is crucial for hub airports efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The measurement and assessment of seaport efficiency and competitiveness have been the subject of many academic works in port economics. This study aimed to benchmark and measure the efficiency and competitiveness of the largest 30 container ports in Europe over the period 2005–2018. The technical efficiency of the sample container ports was estimated by the DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) window analysis. Then, the obtained efficiency scores were introduced as explanatory variables with 8 other variables to explain the competitiveness of these ports using the Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Our findings suggest that handling costs is considered to be the most influential factor for competitiveness. Moreover, our estimates showed that efficiency is negatively correlated with the third axis of competitiveness which strengthens the fact that the Northern European seaports are found to be more competitive and less efficient. This may explain the over-investment and excessive use of inputs phenomena in order to provide customers with a higher quality of service. • Benchmarking and measuring the efficiency and competitiveness of European seaports. • Estimating the technical efficiency of the sample container ports using the Data Envelopment Analysis window analysis. • Determining the seaports competitiveness key factors and their scores relying on the Principal Component Analysis. • Seaports receiving investments recorded a decline in efficiency scores. • The Northern Range seaports are competitive but fail in terms of efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to identify diets with improved nutrient quality and environmental impact within the boundaries of dietary practices. Design: We used Data Envelopment Analysis to benchmark diets for improved adherence to food-based dietary guidelines (FBDG). We then optimised these diets for dietary preferences, nutrient quality and environmental impact. Diets were evaluated using the Nutrient Rich Diet score (NRD15.3), diet-related greenhouse gas emission (GHGE) and a diet similarity index that quantified the proportion of food intake that remained similar as compared with the observed diet. Setting: National dietary surveys of four European countries (Denmark, Czech Republic, Italy and France). Subjects: Approximately 6500 adults, aged 18–64 years. Results: When dietary preferences were prioritised, NRD15·3 was ~6 % higher, GHGE was ~4 % lower and ~85 % of food intake remained similar. This diet had higher amounts of fruit, vegetables and whole grains than the observed diet. When nutrient quality was prioritised, NRD15·3 was ~16 % higher, GHGE was ~3 % lower and ~72 % of food intake remained similar. This diet had higher amounts of legumes and fish and lower amounts of sweetened and alcoholic beverages. Finally, when environmental impact was prioritised, NRD15·3 was ~9 % higher, GHGE was ~21 % lower and ~73 % of food intake remained similar. In this diet, red and processed meat partly shifted to either eggs, poultry, fish or dairy. Conclusions: Benchmark modelling can generate diets with improved adherence to FBDG within the boundaries of dietary practices, but fully maximising health and minimising GHGE cannot be achieved simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The automotive industry has lately been undergoing major changes having a considerable impact on the whole vehicle sector. This does not only refer to what is technologically new on vehicles themselves, but also to the new modern management methods, frequently associated with the Industry 4.0 concept. As well as other companies, car factories are pushing their costs downwards to increase their production efficiency. This paper analyses the economic situation of 5 car manufacturers, two of which having their factories in the Czech Republic and three in Germany. The task was to ascertain efficiency of individual companies in order to propose possible improvements. To do this, the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) for two models (CCR - model based on Charnes, Cooper & Rhodes and BCC - model based on Banker, Charnes & Cooper) was used. The BCC model was found to be more applicable to the established efficiencies, than the CCR one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Offshore wind energy is recognized as an important source of renewable energy and has experienced rapid growth in recent years especially in north-western European countries. In this paper, the efficiency of 71 offshore wind farms across five north-western European countries is assessed using the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) Method. The number of turbines, cost, distance to shore, and area of the wind farms are selected as the inputs and the connectivity to population centres, the produced electricity and the water depth are considered as the outputs. The results show that the average CCR efficiency score of all offshore wind farms considered in this study is 87%, and the relative median efficiency of offshore wind farms in different countries is not statistically different. This study offers a practical and holistic performance assessment to the offshore wind stakeholders and policy makers via including economic, environmental, technical and social inputs and outputs in the analysis. • A benchmark study of the current status of European offshore wind farms. • The average efficiency score of 71 offshore wind farms across Europe is 87%. • Median efficiency scores across countries is not statistically different. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strategically, facility location decisions have ability to generate successful outputs when they take internal and external variables into account. In this study, decision making process which deals that a huge automotive maker which is planning to allocate a new model (Model A) to one or some of its current manufacturing facility in Europe is handled. In addition to criteria such as transportation costs among supply/demand points, demand amounts and investment cost to manufacture new model, facilities' internal input/output performance is also considered in decision making process. Multi-purpose product allocation problems/simultaneous data envelopment analysis (TAP/EVZA) model is used for optimal solution. Findings showed that when the facilities' internal performances are considered on product allocation decision process, it will be significant effect on facility assignment process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to meet the increasingly complex requirements in the fields of logistics and transport, intensive development and application of intermodal transport is necessary, whereby the planning and development of efficient intermodal terminals (IT) as one of the key intermodal transport sub-systems is crucial. Accordingly, this paper deals with the definition of types of inland IT combining different structural elements and the selection of efficient terminal types (TT). For solving this problem, a novel approach for defining the types of inland IT and a hybrid model for evaluating their efficiency are developed in this paper. The model combines the fuzzy EDAS (Evaluation Based on Distance from Average Solution) method of multi-criteria decision-making, used for defining the input weight limits based on the requirements of the stakeholders, and the AR DEA (Assurance Region Data Envelopment Analysis) non-parametric method, used for evaluating the efficiency of the types of inland IT. The applicability of the proposed model is demonstrated by solving the problem of selecting the efficient TTs in the group of "small" inland ITs, based on the analysis of real ITs in Europe. For the most efficient TT, the "small" inland road-rail hub terminal, mainly performing basic, supplementary and accompanying functions, is selected. The selected TT represent the benchmark for the other ITs that have the potential to develop into them and become the important elements in the development of the transport networks, regionalization of the ports and geographic expansion of their hinterlands, which are the key initiators of the regions' macro-economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of municipal solid waste (MSW) arisings has received great attention recently since it is not only a by-product of economic activity but also serves as an input to the economy through material or energy recovery. The main focus of this study is cultural formation and especially the current picture of waste culture and public perception across European Union (EU) member states. Thus, this study will first evaluate environmental efficiency with data envelopment analysis (DEA) based on five parameters: waste, gross domestic product (GDP), labour, capital, and population density for 22 EU Member States and for the years 2005, 2010 and 2015 in order to evaluate which Member States are more efficient. Then the efficiency results are contrasted to Hofstede's and Schwartz's cultural dimensions on STATA with the use of regression modelling. Results show that for year 2005 no significant relationship is noticed for both cultural models, whereas for years 2010 and 2015 there appears to be a significant connection. The above-mentioned findings can be associated with the financial crisis that has hit Europe after 2008 making people more sceptical, while EU legislations have laid out some important directives in the field of waste management. Finally, along with the factors above, EU has faced severe environmental challenges due to waste arisings, as well as accidents and injuries for people working in this sector, which in turn have widely modified EU's waste culture as supported by this study's results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Environmental-economic perspectives are recently taking growing momentum in the analysis of country-level performances, but few studies take into account the multi-dimensional nature of the phenomenon. The leading measure of pollution still remains only CO2 emission or, at best, CO2 equivalent emission. The few works taking a multi-criteria perspective are mainly related to specific case studies, urban areas, or the localization of renewable power plants. In this paper, we propose a multi-criteria analysis for a macro-perspective assessment of 10 different pollutants in 30 European countries over the period 2008–2015. Methodologically, we propose a new hybrid tool allowing us to merge the consolidated procedure usually employed for environmental evaluation: PROMETHEE, with a more flexible weighing process inspired by Data Envelopment Analysis. The unprecedented use of this tool for developing a macro perspective allows the clustering of European countries according their relative performances without any exogenous assumption about the weights given to the specific pollutants. In addition, the empirical evidence emerging from the analysis provides a comprehensive picture of patterns followed by European economies, which highlights the relative strengths and flaws at country-level for the considered pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper extends previous approaches to meta-efficiency measures by incorporating meta-frontiers using good-output, bad-output and by-production efficiencies to compare European and Asian airlines. We also examine whether the heterogeneity in environmental regulatory standards between these regions has emboldened Asian airlines to be less eco-friendly and/or more market-share seeking. We find that the environmental performance of European airlines improved continuously between 2007 and 2013, unlike their competitors in Asia. We argue that this improvement in the environmental performance of the European airlines could be an outcome of the European Emission Trading Scheme (ETS), which set incentives for European airlines to renew their fleets and optimise their operations. Our technological gap ratio estimates also point to some Asian airlines outperforming all other airlines on technological measures, indicating they operate in a more favourable business environment. Overall, our method contributes to the methodological enhancement of data envelopment analysis (DEA) and allows deeper insights into firm operations in general, and environmental efficiency analysis of European and Asian airlines in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic developments experienced within the countries of European Union (EU) in the recent years have reported impacts on road safety levels, especially in serious injuries and traffic fatalities. In order to support the road safety strategies of the EU countries, it is essential to investigate the association of road safety levels with economic, social and demographic factors and finally comparatively evaluate the performance of each country. This paper aims at analyzing the road safety performance of EU-23 countries over a decade (2005–2014) considering their socio-economic and demographic background. For doing so, two distinctive models were applied, in particular, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and DEA-Cross Efficiency Model (DEA-CEM), both suitably adapted to the road safety particularities. Moreover, the concept of road safety evaluation is performed by using comparable road safety indicators, namely, mortality rate and fatality risk. The results of this study contribute to the decision/policy making agenda from the perspective of evaluating road safety performance levels by using short-term and long-term road safety targets. Additionally, an unbiased ‘picture’ of the countries’ road safety performance over a period of 10 years is provided, accompanied with information on the intra-period countries’ efficiency of their road safety targets. The proposed intra-period analysis has useful practical and methodological implications since it is able to expose the evolution of road safety levels among the countries, besides a static overall picture. Finally, this study offers valuable insights on the cross-evaluation of road safety levels among the EU countries by considering a target-setting approach for each of them before and during a turbulent financial period for Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In any economic organization, the existing relationship between its inputs and its outputs must be established in such a way that the management of its tangible and intangible human resources allows producing the maximum amount of useful products with the least amount of resources. In this article, we have analyzed this relation of efficiency applied to the university environment. In particular, the best universities in Europe have been studied. Previously, a rigorous study of the existing bibliography has been carried out. As a result, it has been seen that these studies include specific results analysis, without taking into account the three basic functions of 21st century universities, such as those related to improving the employability of their graduates, transmitting and expanding their scientific knowledge, and the modernization of the national economic system through the introduction of improvements in business activity. The methodology used in is data envelopment analysis (DEA). This model has allowed determining the relative position of each university in relation to the distance it maintains with respect to an ideal efficiency frontier. It also shows that aspects must be improved to be in a position of maximum efficiency. Four types of analysis have been applied. DEA 1 "Analysis of labor efficiency" in which the improvement of the degree of employability of university graduates has been analyzed, DEA 2 "Analysis of academic efficiency" that has allowed us to measure the efficiency in publications, the DEA 3 "Analysis of technological efficiency "that has allowed identifying the universities that are more efficient in terms of patents and finally DEA 4" Global efficiency analysis "that encompasses all the previous ones. Likewise, a correlation analysis was carried out among the results obtained. Among the main conclusions highlight how there is a high degree of correlation between the universities that achieve the best results in academic efficiency and technological efficiency. The comparisons in the level of global university efficiency made in this research work are the result of applying the DEA methodology on a production function that has been constructed using four variables inputs - undergraduate and graduate students and national and foreign teachers - and three output variables - levels of employment, publications and patents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluates the efficiency of peripheral European domestic banks and examines the effects of bank-risk determinants on their performance over 2007–2014. Data Envelopment Analysis is utilised on a Malmquist Productivity Index in order to calculate the bank efficiency scores. Next, a Double Bootstrapped Truncated Regression is applied to obtain bias-corrected scores and examine whether changes in the financial conditions affect differently banks’ efficiency levels. The analysis accounts for the sovereign debt crisis period and for different levels of financial development in the countries under study. Such an application in the respective European banking setting is unique. The proposed method also copes with common misspecification problems observed in regression models based on efficiency scores. The results have important policy implications for the Euro area, as they indicate the existence of a periphery efficiency meta-frontier. Liquidity and credit risk are found to negatively affect banks productivity, whereas capital and profit risk have a positive impact on their performance. The crisis period is found to augment these effects, while bank-risk variables affect more banks' efficiency when lower levels of financial development are observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For consistent and effective CO2 reduction, many countries need to improve not only the technical efficiency of CO2 mitigation, but also environmental responsibility. In this study, we examine both the technical efficiency and voluntary environmental consciousness (VEC) of 12 European countries using a two-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA). In the first stage, we measured the technical efficiency of green energy technologies (GET) associated with fossil fuels, renewable energy, and storage technologies of each country for energy generation with regard to CO2 emissions by surveying GET-related patents. Using the logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI), we decomposed CO2 emissions into the following technological factors: energy intensity, fuel mix, and CO2 emission coefficient. In the second stage, we quantified the VEC in each country by investigating GET patent changes via research and development (R&D) investment at given changes in CO2 emissions. The results show different aspects for each country in terms of technical efficiency and VEC, suggesting potential levels of both efficient CO2 reductions and desirable GET development by using reference countries as a benchmark. Our study methodology and results can contribute to establishing effective national technology policy and aid in calls for common responsibility and the active participation of nations in addressing climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study develops a tool to assess livability in European cities covering two components of livability: human wellbeing and environmental impact. First, we propose a conceptual model to assess cities' livability, that extends the concept of urban livability to include a component related to environmental sustainability. Second, we address the measurement of cities' livability. For this purpose, a new composite indicator was constructed based on a data envelopment analysis model specified using a directional distance function. In addition to assigning a summary measure of performance for each city, the composite indicator can be used to guide improvements concerning different livability objectives. One of the innovative features of the model proposed is to enable, by the specification of different directional vectors, focusing separately on each component of livability (e.g., human wellbeing and environmental impact) or alternatively considering cities' potential for improvement in all indicators simultaneously. In addition, it is possible to incorporate a new type of weight restrictions, specified as assurance regions type I, that reflect the relative importance of both desirable and undesirable outputs in percentage terms. Finally, this paper approached the assessment of the evolution of cities' performance over time using the Luenberger productivity indicator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European iron and steel producers are working towards increased energy efficiency to meet requirements set by European policies such as the Energy Efficiency Directive. In this study, we show that the specific energy consumption (SEC), representing the iron and steel sector in the Odyssee energy efficiency index (ODEX)-the tool for policy evaluation recommended by the European Commission-is insufficient for capturing energy efficiency trends of European iron and steel production. European producers focus on niche markets, diversifying and specialising their set of products well beyond crude steel, which is the benchmark product for deriving the SEC. We compare the SEC with the more comprehensive Malmquist productivity index (MPI) methodology, which is calculated using data envelopment analysis (DEA) techniques. An evaluation of energy efficiency trends during 2000-2010 showed that the SEC overestimated energy efficiency improvements for European steel industries, while underestimating the improvements achieved by Swedish steel industries. A comparison between the SEC, the MPI/DEA approach, and energy intensity based on value added in the Swedish case provides further insight to the methodological differences between the approaches. We conclude that the approaches highlight different aspects of energy efficiency analyses and that the SEC is not sufficient for capturing the energy efficiency of steel industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional data envelopment analysis (DEA) models consider a system as a single-process ‘black box’. There are, however, DEA approaches that consider a system as composed of distinct processes or stages, each one with its own inputs and outputs and with intermediate flows among the stages. In this paper, a network DEA approach to airline efficiency assessment is presented. One conclusion of the study is that the network DEA approach has more discriminative power than the single-process DEA approach and that the computed targets, efficiency scores and rankings are more valid. This is because network DEA allows for a more fine-grained analysis that leads to a more realistic estimation of the overall system production possibility set than the one assumed by conventional DEA. In other words, compared with network DEA the conventional, single-process DEA represents an aggregated analysis that merges all system processes with their inputs and outputs and ignores their internal flows. The main drawbacks are the need for more detailed data (i.e. at the process level) and the greater complexity of the resulting models, especially if there are inputs or outputs that are shared among the processes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This research analyses the performance of Portuguese metros in the European context. By means of two non-parametric benchmarking techniques, respectively performance indicators and data envelopment analysis, the efficiency of 37 European metros is computed. In order to provide statistical inference and robustness to the results, the recent technique of bootstrapping is applied. Also the partial frontiers (order-m) is used to identify outliers and the double-bootstrap procedure in a second stage methodology to take into account the influence of the operational environment. The results show important levels of inefficiency both in Portuguese metros and in other European metros. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] This paper provides implications for countries in the Europe and Central Asia to improve their efficiencies. [•] The average level of overall technical efficiency is 98.8%. [•] Productivity growth decreased on average by 7.7% per year. [•] In Tobit model, the positive influence of the hospital beds and average years of primary schooling on efficiency scores. [•] There is a regional effect between the Europe and Central Asia. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper conducts data envelopment analysis (DEA) for the purpose of calculating inefficiencies in the European countries' growth using as main inputs the variables typically used in the growth-energy literature nexus such as energy consumption, carbon emissions, employment and capital but also with a particular focus on renewable energy sources (RES) consumption. Since we have a panel data set, we also apply the Malmquist method to calculate total factor productivity and an analysis of peers. Mean overall efficiency has been calculated to be equal to 0.892, while mean pure technical efficiency is 0.569 and scale efficiency 1.798. Countries with remarkable renewable energy performance have medium to low efficiency, while renewable energy laggards are among the most technically efficient countries in Europe. Results from this paper are useful for monitoring and benchmarking purposes with respect to their 2020 renewable energy obligations stemming from 2009/28/ED Directive. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] This study evaluates the road safety development in Europe over the last decade. [•] Both the evolution of fatalities and the changes in exposure are taken into account. [•] The DEA-based Malmquist productivity index is employed to undertake the assessment. [•] The results indicate that the fatality risk rather than the number has been halved. [•] The fact that simply considering the fatality reduction may not reflect the real improvement is verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The promotion of quality of life is becoming ever more important in a scenario of regional, national and even international competition among cities, triggered by globalization. Public sites, and green spaces in particular, which are available in varying extent in all urban areas, can bring important benefits to urban vitality and, as a consequence, to quality of life. However, cities are intricate entities and measuring their success in converting the potential for public green space usage into increased quality of life is a difficult task. In order to contribute to the objective of assessing the potential for public green space use, and its consequences on urban vitality, we applied the Data Envelopment Analysis technique to assess a total of 174 European cities. The results detect the best performing cities, and for the cities considered inefficient, a set of benchmarks is identified, whose best practices can be copied to support efforts of performance improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To measure the relative efficiency of primary care (PC) in turning their structures into services delivery and turning their services delivery into quality outcomes. Design Cross-sectional study based on the dataset of the Primary Healthcare Activity Monitor for Europe project. Two Data Envelopment Analysis models were run to compare the relative technical efficiency. A sensitivity analysis of the resulting efficiency scores was performed. Setting PC systems in 22 European countries in 2009/2010. Main Outcome Measures Model 1 included data on PC governance, workforce development and economic conditions as inputs and access, coordination, continuity and comprehensiveness of care as outputs. Model 2 included the previous process dimensions as inputs and quality indicators as outputs. Results There is relatively reasonable efficiency in all countries at delivering as many as possible PC processes at a given level of PC structure. It is particularly important to invest in economic conditions to achieve an efficient structure–process balance. Only five countries have fully efficient PC systems in turning their services delivery into high quality outcomes, using a similar combination of access, continuity and comprehensiveness, although they differ on the adoption of coordination of services. There is a large variation in efficiency levels obtained by countries with inefficient PC in turning their services delivery into quality outcomes. Conclusions Maximizing the individual functions of PC without taking into account the coherence within the health-care system is not sufficient from a policymaker's point of view when aiming to achieve efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most important goals included in the Europe 2020 Strategy are climate/energy targets, which determine not only the achievement of its other goals but also climate neutrality by 2050. This article aims to assess the efficiency of implementing the climate/energy targets of the Europe 2020 Strategy and to analyse changes over time, taking into consideration the structural diversity between the old (EU 15) and new EU members (EU 13) in the period of 2014–2018. The assessment of changes in the efficiency of climate/energy targets over time adds value to the evaluation methods used to date in this area. This was done using data envelopment analysis (DEA) and the Malmquist index. Earlier works usually specified only the level of target achievement, mostly jointly in relation to all of the goals of the Europe 2020 Strategy. The efficiency of their implementation at the macroeconomic level has not been studied. Furthermore, the added value of this paper consists in obtaining additional information concerning the internal structure and character of the studied efficiency of old and new member states. Changes in the efficiency level have been analysed with regard to the key climate/energy indicators used to monitor the Europe 2020 Strategy. Based on the results, the EU countries were divided into six groups with similar levels of efficiency in achieving energy and climate objectives and ranked using the DEA–Malmquist index according to changes in their level over time. This makes it possible not only to assess the performance of countries but also to formulate recommendations for decision-makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Assessing sustainability of agricultural systems is complex. [•] We used Data Envelopment Analysis to assess sustainability of 252 European regions. [•] Partitioning into subset of DEA-efficient and subset of non-efficient regions. [•] Implementation of scenarios via balancing constraints. [•] Impact of constant versus variable returns to scale and input versus output orientation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper aims to provide an assessment of urban quality of life (QoL) of European cities from the perspective of qualified human resources. The competitiveness of cities relies increasingly in their capacity to attract highly educated workers, as they are important assets for firms when choosing a location. Qualified human resources, on the other hand, tend to value QoL over other urban features. This is why policymakers and urban planners need to evaluate QoL of cities and be provided with tools that can guide action to improvements in this area. We assess urban QoL by means of a composite indicator constructed using data envelopment analysis, based on Urban Audit data and Mercer's framework of analysis, to give account of 246 European cities. Besides presenting a ranking of the best and the worst scores of QoL, this methodology allows benchmarking strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional policies seek to enable regions to increase their competitiveness and development, and as such one priority Objective of activities financed by Structural Funds is higher employment, higher productivity and economic activity. How efficiently the regions apply the funds is a fundamental issue for the development and continuity of regional policies. We therefore consider that determining the efficiency of European regional policies is an issue of high importance, and this is the main aim of this study. We have considered it appropriate to use the available information to apply a mathematical technique known as Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), which allows us to calculate the technical efficiency and inefficiency of the Structural Funds applied in the Objective 1 regions for the period 2000–2006. Furthermore, we wish to determine if the regions have been more efficient in creasing their levels of employment or in increasing productivity. Our study applies this methodology along with other methods like regression analysis, profit analysis and factorial analysis to determine the variation in the rate of unemployment and productivity in these European Regions. The study reveals that only eight regions are efficient, although none of them is run in all the models. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The objective of this paper is an efficiency analysis concerning higher education systems in European countries. Data have been extracted from OECD data-sets (Education at a Glance, several years), using a non-parametric technique - data envelopment analysis - to calculate efficiency scores. This paper represents the first attempt to conduct such an efficiency analysis at a system-level in a cross-country comparison, while focusing only on tertiary education. The role of the public sector has also been analysed, by looking at the percentage of public spending devoted to higher education, and the way the public funds are used (channelled through private subsidies or directly assigned to institutions). It has been found that there is a small core of efficient units (e.g. Switzerland, United Kingdom), and that the influence of the public sector seems to play a role in determining efficiency scores. Many elements, related to critical policies, have also been analysed adopting a semi-parametric approach, to better explain the performances and efficiency differentials. Some key-policy implications have been derived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper assesses the competitiveness of organic and conventional dairy farms under different milk market and organic farming policy scenarios. We use a DEA-based model to estimate for each policy scenario the sample farms’ profit potential in both technologies. The model enables identification of a farm’s optimal technology based on its input–output observations. The empirical analysis is based on the annual accounts of 1300 Bavarian dairy farms. Results indicate that approximately 69% (78%) of the organic (conventional) farms have chosen their optimal farming system. The remaining organic (conventional) farmers could increase their profit on average by roughly 6% (10%) by switching to the other technology. Abolishment of the EU milk quota results in a considerable decline in the number of sample farms for which organic farming is the optimal technology, suggesting that, ceteris paribus, organic dairy farms may lose competitive advantage with the deregulation of the EU’s milk market regime in 2015. Organic maintenance payments more than double the number of farms with a higher earning potential in organic farming, but their effectiveness could decline when the milk quota is abolished. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Purpose - The purpose of the research presented in this paper is to evaluate the efficiency and productivity of the European retailers. Design/methodology/approach - Applying a two-stage approach at individual and global levels, in this study the paper adopts the efficient frontier approach using the Malmquist index, based on DEA to measure productivity of European retailers. Findings - An efficiency and productivity evaluation process is developed incorporating non-parametric techniques in the European retail sector for the period of 1998-2006. The author proposes an integrated benchmarking framework illustrated in two stages. In the first stage, work is carried out in an individualized way at the country level identifying the firms that form the corresponding efficient frontier. In a second stage a benchmarking analysis is carried out starting from the selection of the best firms made in the first stage. In this case the firms belonging to different countries are compared against each other. The aim of this procedure is to seek out those best practices that will lead to improved performance throughout the whole sample. The results confirm that convergence/divergence in efficiency and productivity growth do not have the same behaviour patterns, concluding that some countries experienced improvements while others worsened. Individual scrutiny (benchmarks) in the second stage shows that there are four groups of firms that have allowed us to extract important managerial implications. Originality/value - The paper proposes an integrated benchmarking framework illustrated in two stages. With this methodology answers can be given to important questions such as, how efficient and productive is European retailing? What is the evolution of the productivity over time in Europe? Do different patterns of convergence/divergence of the efficiency exist among the analysed countries? What characteristics do the firms with the best managerial practices belonging to the European global frontier have? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Benchmarking of rail firms has become a matter of substantial interest and many authors have emphasised the importance of transaction costs in regard to assessing the desirability of vertical separation. However, due to data and methodological limitations, previous rail efficiency studies have been unable to explicitly analyse the role that transaction cost measures play in determining the relative efficiency performance of different rail firms or rail systems. This paper incorporates recently produced measures of transaction costs into a two-stage bootstrapped data envelopment analysis (DEA), applied to a sample of 43 Swedish, German and British train operating firms. In the first stage, the number of transaction staff is included as a separate (physical) input within the DEA. This is followed by a second-step Tobit regression which seeks to evaluate the impact of institutional (vertical separation and type of operation), environmental (competition) and transactional (monetary values of transaction costs) factors on technical efficiency. The results of the analysis show that transactional factors are more important in determining technical efficiency than institutional factors and the opening-up of competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a multi-criteria data envelopment analysis (MCDEA) model, used in the literature to moderate the homogeneity of weights dispersion, is solved using pre-emptive goal programming. The MCDEA model solved using pre-emptive goal programming gives the same relative efficiency as the classical DEA model while it improves the homogeneity of input-output weights. This conclusion is confirmed by the computational results obtained when the two models are applied to a real data set relative to the socio-economic performances of European countries and to randomly generated instances with various numbers of decision making units, inputs and outputs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Foundation Quality Management is one of the models dealing with the assessment of an organization's function using a self-assessment for measuring the concepts, some of which are more and more qualitative. Consequently, the complete understanding and the correct use of this model in an organization depend on the comprehensive recognition of that model and of the different strategies of self - assessment. The process of self -- assessment on the basis of this model in an organization needs using experienced auditors. This leads to reducing the wrong privilege, obeying the criteria and subcriteria. In this paper, firstly there are studied some of the weaknesses of the EFQM model, then, by using the structure of input-output governing of the model and also using the Data Envelopment Analysis, a method is offered to recognize the lack of proportion between Enablers and the results of organization, which may occur due to problems and obstacles hidden in the heart of organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Under economical constraints, blood centers need to identify ways to improve their efficiency. Because there is little evidence regarding the technical efficiency of blood centers, international comparisons may be useful in identifying efficiency discrepancies and can reveal opportunities for enhancing efficiency, such as allocating resources more effectively. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Data were collected for years 2000 through 2002 from 16 blood centers in 10 European countries. Input variables included working hours, whole-blood (WB) collections, premises, and equipment, and the output variables were red blood cells and platelets (PLTs). A nonparametric method, data envelopment analysis (DEA), was used in the analyses of technical efficiency in blood component preparation departments. Efficiency scores were calculated with DEA linear programming techniques and evaluated for site characteristics that possibly affect efficiency, such as the production method of PLTs and the proportion of BCs (buffy coats) from WB and BC PLTs from all PLTs produced. RESULTS: With working hours and equipment as inputs, median technical efficiency was 60 percent (range, 41%-100%). Four departments were efficient (efficiency, >90%), and 12 were inefficient (range, 41-89). Efficiency remained roughly the same in 13 departments through the 3-year study period and decreased in 3. Efficiency was mainly affected by staffing levels (working hours). Efficiency did not directly relate to production volume, method, or any other site characteristic. CONCLUSIONS: The major cause of inefficiency was excess staffing resulting from a suboptimal combination of manpower and production output levels. Further research is needed to manage factors affecting efficiency, such as the fluctuation of demand in production planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we argue that European airports, on average, are inefficient. Airline inefficiency (low load factors) appears to contribute significantly to airport inefficiency in terms of air passenger movements. We find that the average airport in Europe operates under constant returns to scale in “producing” air transport movements and under increasing returns to scale in producing passenger movements. These operating characteristics are statistically tested in a stochastic frontier model. Using data envelopment analysis, in which the number of runways is used as a fixed factor, technical and scale efficiency coefficients have been assessed. There appears to be no region-specific effect in that an airport in a certain country or region is on average more (in)efficient. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Eco-efficiency is a key concept encompassing economic and environmental aspects to promote a more efficient use of resources and lower emissions. An eco-efficiency perspective in the design of products and services is thus essential in the pursuit of sustainability. This article proposes a novel decision-support methodological approach to assess the environmental impacts and costs in early design stages, aimed at providing informed recommendations to designers, manufacturers and decision-makers. This multimethodology approach integrates a streamlined life-cycle environmental and cost assessment with a data envelopment analysis (DEA) model that derives eco-efficiency ratios and compares alternative designs, without the need to subjectively weigh the different environmental and cost life-cycle metrics. A linear regression model is then used to indicate the most influential decision variables. This approach was applied to a retrofit process of a historic residential building located in Southern Europe. The metrics used to assess the design parameters are: climate change, acidification, eutrophication, non-renewable primary energy, and net present value. A sensitivity analysis on the decarbonization of the electricity mix was also performed. The multimethodology offers valuable guidance to allow decision-makers to progressively specify the decision variables in an iterative way, using robust methods allowing for the statistical validation of results. The case study revealed robust empirical results for building retrofits in Southern European climates, indicating that the variables that most impact eco-efficiency (in both short and long-term) are roof insulation thickness and material followed by exterior wall insulation material. After three variables specification, the average eco-efficiency always increased, with higher gains obtained for the scenarios with the current electricity mix (22–25% increase) and more modest gains obtained for the electricity decarbonization scenarios (8–15% increase). • A multimethodology decision support tool combining LCA, DEA and linear regression. • - Multimethodology offers more information in early design for sustainable decisions. • - Identify most influential variables on eco-efficiency of buildings retrofits. • - Specifying three variables increased average ecoefficiency by more than 20%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eco-efficiency indicators represent a valuable instrument supporting policy decisions geared at sustainability. However, in order to provide effective guidance, eco-efficiency should be assessed considering the heterogeneous territorial settings, and thus the underlying economic structures that regions exhibit. Starting from the most common definition of eco-efficiency as the ratio of economic output to environmental input, this paper aims to investigate regional eco-efficiency patterns in Europe, paying particular attention to territorial heterogeneity. The study relies on the metafrontier Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to (1) assess the comparative evolution of eco-efficiency in 282 European regions between 2006 and 2014, and (2) estimate the technology and conditional efficiency gaps that regions display considering their dominant territorial features (i.e. urban, intermediate and rural). The results show an overall upward trend in eco-efficiency across European regions recorded between 2006 and 2014. However, there is no evidence that regions are converging equally to similar levels of eco-efficiency. On the contrary, a rather complex EU core-periphery pattern seems to be emerging. Most of the Eastern regions have made significant progress in reducing the technological divide. However, the same cannot be said for their resource management, which has become the main driver of inefficiency. On the other hand, the significant losses of human capital experienced by many Southern intermediate and rural regions seem to be the basis of their widening technological gap. These results suggest that future efforts to improve eco-efficiency should be aimed at encouraging an efficient use of productive factors within each region, going beyond generic urban/rural approaches and therefore implementing place-based policies building on a good understanding of the complex linkages between the physical, social and economic environments within individual regions. To the best of our knowledge, the analysis of regional eco-efficiency performance based on territorial structures represents a major contribution to previous literature in this field. • A metafrontier DEA is applied to assess eco-efficiency across 282 European regions. • Eco-efficiency patterns strongly depend on regional territorial heterogeneity. • Urban and intermediate areas attained greater progress in eco-efficiency than rural areas. • Eastern regions narrowed their technology gap between 2006 and 2014. • Employment loss in rural regions strongly affected technological levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vertical greenery systems (VGS) are effective at solving urban heat. They can absorb noise pollution and dust, and, aesthetically, they are positively perceived. Systems using hydroponic irrigation and nutrition, in combination with mineral wool as a base, are light and effective (they are able to hold water, with a high percentage of air, and a good mechanical structure to hold the plant stable). However, the functionality of a system can be compromised if the water supply is depleted or the irrigation system fails. This deficiency can be partially remedied if a certain amount of biochar or a suitable organic fertilizer is also a part of the system. The research task consisted of verifying this assumption and determining the effective amount of the biochar. Samples with different amounts of biochar were examined under the same temperature and humidity conditions; extended drying times, additional costs, and safety tank size savings were found. Subsequently, the effective amount of the biochar was determined by the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method. It has been experimentally verified that biochar has a positive effect and prolongs the drying time; the additional costs are almost offset by the benefits. It should be noted that the results are valid for central Europe, and may be modified for different climate and economic zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent public and governmental concerns regarding increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have drawn the attention to environmental issues in port sector literature. Since eco-efficiency improvements play a crucial role in stimulating clean production in this sector, this paper provides a comparative analysis of the eco-efficiency of twenty-four leading container ports in Europe. The exploration of the most prominent determinants of eco-efficiency and the analysis of the heterogeneity of port behaviours represent additional objectives. Further considerations derive from the assumptions on the selection of indicators that can be involved in the comparative analysis and from the involvement of GHGs in the theoretical model. Data from a sample of 52,697 active firms are considered in this empirical work. The model involves a two-step procedure: the slacks-based measure (SBM) and the response-based procedure for detecting unit segments in partial least squares (REBUS-PLS). The empirical results confirm that significant correlations emerge between the indicators considered and eco-efficiency. The findings validate that unobserved heterogeneity in the port data exists, and that REBUS-PLS allows the predictive capacity of the model to be optimised for European ports. From a policy point of view, the conclusion could offer useful insights to support policy measures targeted at the improvement of clean production. • The paper provides a comparative analysis of the eco-efficiency of twenty-four EU ports. • The paper attempts to explore the most prominent determinants of eco-efficiency. • The research considers a two-step procedure: the SBM and the rREBUS-PLS. • REBUS-PLS is suitable for investigating unobserved heterogeneity in the port data. • An approach based on the NUTS2 levels and NACE codes is considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relationship between renewable energy consumption and economic efficiency. For this reason, conditional Data Envelopment Analysis estimators alongside with nonparametric regressions are applied in a sample of 25 European countries for the year 2010 with emphasis given to Eastern and Western European countries. Our results reveal that renewable energy consumption has a positive effect on countries' economic efficiency for lower consumption levels while for higher levels, the analysis reveals mixed effects, which are also subject to regional disparities. Finally, it appears that the effect of renewable energy consumption on countries' economic efficiency depends also on countries' specific regional characteristics as well as on the environmental policies adopted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]