1 DATA ENVELOPMENT ANALYSIS Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was initially developed as a method for assessing the comparative efficiencies of organisational units such as the branches of a bank, schools, hospital departments or restaurants. The key in each case is that they perform feature which makes the units comparable the same function in terms of the kinds of resource they use and the types of output they produce. For example all bank branches to be compared would typically use staff and capital assets to effect income generating activities such as advancing loans, selling financial products and carrying out banking transactions on behalf of their clients. The efficiencies assessed in this context by DEA are intended to reflect the scope for resource conservation at the unit being assessed without detriment to its outputs, or alternatively, the scope for output augmentation without additional resources. The efficiencies assessed are comparative or relative because they reflect scope for resource conservation or output augmentation at one unit relative to other comparable benchmark units rather than in some absolute sense. We resort to relative rather than absolute efficiencies because in most practical contexts we lack sufficient information to derive the superior measures of absolute efficiency. DEA was initiated by Charnes Cooper and Rhodes in 1978 in their seminal paper Chames et al. (1978). The paper operationalised and extended by means of linear programming production economics concepts of empirical efficiency put forth some twenty years earlier by Farrell (1957).

The book aims to introduce the reader to DEA in the most accessible manner possible. It is specifically aimed at those who have had no prior exposure to DEA and wish to learn its essentials, how it works, its key uses, and the mechanics of using it. The latter will include using DEA software. Students on degree or training courses will find the book especially helpful. The same is true of practitioners engaging in comparative efficiency assessments and performance management within their organisation. Examples are used throughout the book to help the reader consolidate the concepts covered.

1 DATA ENVELOPMENT ANALYSIS Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was initially developed as a method for assessing the comparative efficiencies of organisational units such as the branches of a bank, schools, hospital departments or restaurants. The key in each case is that they perform feature which makes the units comparable the same function in terms of the kinds of resource they use and the types of output they produce. For example all bank branches to be compared would typically use staff and capital assets to effect income generating activities such as advancing loans, selling financial products and carrying out banking transactions on behalf of their clients. The efficiencies assessed in this context by DEA are intended to reflect the scope for resource conservation at the unit being assessed without detriment to its outputs, or alternatively, the scope for output augmentation without additional resources. The efficiencies assessed are comparative or relative because they reflect scope for resource conservation or output augmentation at one unit relative to other comparable benchmark units rather than in some absolute sense. We resort to relative rather than absolute efficiencies because in most practical contexts we lack sufficient information to derive the superior measures of absolute efficiency. DEA was initiated by Charnes Cooper and Rhodes in 1978 in their seminal paper Chames et al. (1978). The paper operationalised and extended by means of linear programming production economics concepts of empirical efficiency put forth some twenty years earlier by Farrell (1957).

This book represents a milestone in the progression of Data Envelop ment Analysis (DEA). It is the first reference text which includes a comprehensive review and comparative discussion of the basic DEA models. The development is anchored in a unified mathematical and graphical treatment and includes the most important modeling ex tensions. In addition, this is the first book that addresses the actual process of conducting DEA analyses including combining DEA and 1 parametric techniques. The book has three other distinctive features. It traces the applications driven evolution and diffusion of DEA models and extensions across disciplinary boundaries. It includes a comprehensive bibliography to serve as a source of references as well as a platform for further develop ments. And, finally, the power of DEA analysis is demonstrated through fifteen novel applications which should serve as an inspiration for future applications and extensions of the methodology. The origin of this book was a Conference on New Uses of DEA in 2 Management and Public Policy which was held at the IC Institute of the University of Texas at Austin on September 27-29, 1989. The conference was made possible through NSF Grant #SES-8722504 (A. Charnes and 2 W. W. Cooper, co-PIs) and the support of the IC Institute.

Introduction to Data Envelopment Analysis and Its Uses: With DEA-Solver Software and References has been carefully designed by the authors to provide a systematic introduction to DEA and its uses as a multifaceted tool for evaluating problems in a variety of contexts. The authors have been involved in DEA's development from the beginning. William Cooper (with Abraham Charnes and Edwardo Rhodes) is a founder of DEA. Lawrence Seiford and Kaoru Tone have been actively involved as researchers and practitioners from its earliest beginnings. All have been deeply involved in uses of DEA in practical applications as well as in the development of its basic theory and methodologies. The result is a textbook grounded in authority, experience and substance.

Using the neo-classical theory of production economics as the analytical framework, this book, first published in 2004, provides a unified and easily comprehensible, yet fairly rigorous, exposition of the core literature on data envelopment analysis (DEA) for readers based in different disciplines. The various DEA models are developed as nonparametric alternatives to the econometric models. Apart from the standard fare consisting of the basic input- and output-oriented DEA models formulated by Charnes, Cooper, and Rhodes, and Banker, Charnes, and Cooper, the book covers developments such as the directional distance function, free disposal hull (FDH) analysis, non-radial measures of efficiency, multiplier bounds, mergers and break-up of firms, and measurement of productivity change through the Malmquist total factor productivity index. The chapter on efficiency measurement using market prices provides the critical link between DEA and the neo-classical theory of a competitive firm. The book also covers several forms of stochastic DEA in detail.

This book introduces readers to the use of R codes for optimization problems. First, it provides the necessary background to understand data envelopment analysis (DEA), with a special emphasis on fuzzy DEA. It then describes DEA models, including fuzzy DEA models, and shows how to use them to solve optimization problems with R. Further, it discusses the main advantages of R in optimization problems, and provides R codes based on real-world data sets throughout. Offering a comprehensive review of DEA and fuzzy DEA models and the corresponding R codes, this practice-oriented reference guide is intended for masters and Ph.D. students in various disciplines, as well as practitioners and researchers.

From the Foreword: 'This book is an excellent tool for practitioners who are interested in the merits and pitfalls of the technique.... (The author's) research is an example of inventiveness, diligence and accuracy' - Freerk A. Lootsma, Delft Institute of Technology Data envelopment Analysis is a Mathematical Programme for measuring performance efficiency of organizational units. The organizational units, termed as decision-making units (DMU) can be of any kind: manufacturing units, a set of schools, banks, hospitals, power plants, police stations, prisons, a set of firms etc. DEA has been unsuccessfully applied to measure the performance efficiency of these different kinds of DMUs which share a common characteristic - that they are non-profit organization where measurement of performance efficiency is difficult. DEA has been employed for assessing the relative performance of a set of firms that use a variety of identical inputs-say in the case of a school: quality of students, teachers, grants etc.,-to produce a variety of identical outputs-number of students who pass the final year, average grades obtained by the students in the final year etc. DEA assumes the performance of the DMUs by using the concepts of efficiency or productivity which is measured as the ratio of total outputs to total inputs. Also, the efficiencies estimated are relative to the best performing DMU or DMUs. The best performing DMU is given a score of 100% and the performance of other DMUs vary between 0 -100%.

This handbook covers DEA topics that are extensively used and solidly based. The purpose of the handbook is to (1) describe and elucidate the state of the field and (2), where appropriate, extend the frontier of DEA research. It defines the state-of-the-art of DEA methodology and its uses. This handbook is intended to represent a milestone in the progression of DEA. Written by experts, who are generally major contributors to the topics to be covered, it includes a comprehensive review and discussion of basic DEA models, which, in the present issue extensions to the basic DEA methods, and a collection of DEA applications in the areas of banking, engineering, health care, and services. The handbook's chapters are organized into two categories: (i) basic DEA models, concepts, and their extensions, and (ii) DEA applications. First edition contributors have returned to update their work. The second edition includes updated versions of selected first edition chapters. New chapters have been added on: different approaches with no need for a priori choices of weights (called “multipliers) that reflect meaningful trade-offs, construction of static and dynamic DEA technologies, slacks-based model and its extensions, DEA models for DMUs that have internal structures network DEA that can be used for measuring supply chain operations, Selection of DEA applications in the service sector with a focus on building a conceptual framework, research design and interpreting results.

Praise for the Second Edition: "This is quite a well-done book: very tightly organized, better-than-average exposition, and numerous examples, illustrations, and applications." —Mathematical Reviews of the American Mathematical Society An Introduction to Linear Programming and Game Theory, Third Edition presents a rigorous, yet accessible, introduction to the theoretical concepts and computational techniques of linear programming and game theory. Now with more extensive modeling exercises and detailed integer programming examples, this book uniquely illustrates how mathematics can be used in real-world applications in the social, life, and managerial sciences, providing readers with the opportunity to develop and apply their analytical abilities when solving realistic problems. This Third Edition addresses various new topics and improvements in the field of mathematical programming, and it also presents two software programs, LP Assistant and the Solver add-in for Microsoft Office Excel, for solving linear programming problems. LP Assistant, developed by coauthor Gerard Keough, allows readers to perform the basic steps of the algorithms provided in the book and is freely available via the book's related Web site. The use of the sensitivity analysis report and integer programming algorithm from the Solver add-in for Microsoft Office Excel is introduced so readers can solve the book's linear and integer programming problems. A detailed appendix contains instructions for the use of both applications. Additional features of the Third Edition include: A discussion of sensitivity analysis for the two-variable problem, along with new examples demonstrating integer programming, non-linear programming, and make vs. buy models Revised proofs and a discussion on the relevance and solution of the dual problem A section on developing an example in Data Envelopment Analysis An outline of the proof of John Nash's theorem on the existence of equilibrium strategy pairs for non-cooperative, non-zero-sum games Providing a complete mathematical development of all presented concepts and examples, Introduction to Linear Programming and Game Theory, Third Edition is an ideal text for linear programming and mathematical modeling courses at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. It also serves as a valuable reference for professionals who use game theory in business, economics, and management science.