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  • © 2020

Advances in Efficiency and Productivity II

  • Highlights recent advances in productivity and efficiency research
  • Provides detailed empirical applications of analytical concepts that expand our understanding of the roles of efficiency and productivity in influencing the performance of various sectors of the economy
  • Editors and Contributors are some of the most respected in the field

Part of the book series: International Series in Operations Research & Management Science (ISOR, volume 287)

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Table of contents (15 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-vi
  2. Background

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
    2. Introduction

      • Juan Aparicio, C. A. Knox Lovell, Jesus T. Pastor, Joe Zhu
      Pages 3-8
  3. Methodological Advances

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 9-9
    2. New Definitions of Economic Cross-efficiency

      • Juan Aparicio, José L. Zofío
      Pages 11-32
    3. Evaluating Efficiency in Nonhomogeneous Environments

      • Sonia Valeria Avilés-Sacoto, Wade D. Cook, David Güemes-Castorena, Joe Zhu
      Pages 33-52
    4. Testing Positive Endogeneity in Inputs in Data Envelopment Analysis

      • Juan Aparicio, Lidia Ortiz, Daniel Santin, Gabriela Sicilia
      Pages 53-66
    5. Modelling Pollution-Generating Technologies: A Numerical Comparison of Non-parametric Approaches

      • K Hervé Dakpo, Philippe Jeanneaux, Laure Latruffe
      Pages 67-85
    6. Local Circularity of Six Classic Price Indexes

      • Jesús T. Pastor, C. A. Knox Lovell
      Pages 107-123
  4. Empirical Advances

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 143-143
    2. A Novel Two-Phase Approach to Computing a Regional Social Progress Index

      • Vincent Charles, Tatiana Gherman, Ioannis E. Tsolas
      Pages 159-172
    3. A Two-Level Top-Down Decomposition of Aggregate Productivity Growth: The Role of Infrastructure

      • Luis Orea, Inmaculada Álvarez-Ayuso, Luis Servén
      Pages 173-191
    4. European Energy Efficiency Evaluation Based on the Use of Super-Efficiency Under Undesirable Outputs in SBM Models

      • Roberto Gómez-Calvet, David Conesa, Ana Rosa Gómez-Calvet, Emili Tortosa-Ausina
      Pages 193-208
    5. Measuring Global Municipal Performance in Heterogeneous Contexts: A Semi-nonparametric Frontier Approach

      • José Manuel Cordero, Carlos Díaz-Caro, Cristina Polo
      Pages 221-238
  5. Back Matter

    Pages 261-267

About this book

This book surveys the state-of-the-art in efficiency and productivity analysis, examining advances in the analytical foundations and empirical applications. The analytical techniques developed in this book for efficiency provide alternative ways of defining optimum outcome sets, typically as a (technical) production frontier or as an (economic) cost, revenue or profit frontier, and alternative ways of measuring efficiency relative to an appropriate frontier. Simultaneously, the analytical techniques developed for efficiency analysis extend directly to productivity analysis, thereby providing alternative methods for estimating productivity levels, and productivity change through time or productivity variation across producers.

This book includes chapters using data envelopment analysis (DEA) or stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) as quantitative techniques capable of measuring efficiency and productivity. Across the book’s 15 chapters, it broadly extends into popular application areas including agriculture, banking and finance, and municipal performance, and relatively new application areas including corporate social responsibility, the value of intangible assets, land consolidation, and the measurement of economic well-being. The chapters also cover topics such as permutation tests for production frontier shifts, new indices of total factor productivity, and also randomized controlled trials and production frontiers.

Editors and Affiliations

  • Center of Operations Research, Miguel Hernandez University, Elche, Spain

    Juan Aparicio, Jesus T. Pastor

  • School of Economics, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

    C. A. Knox Lovell

  • Foisie Business School, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, USA

    Joe Zhu

About the editors

Juan Aparicio is an Associate Professor at the Center of Operations Research of the University Miguel Hernandez, Elche (Alicante), Spain. He is the director of the Center of Operations Research. He earned his Ph.D. in Statistics in 2007 at the UMH. He is Co-Chair (with Knox Lovell) of the Santander Chair on Efficiency and Productivity. His research interests mainly include Efficiency and Productivity Analysis. 

C. A. Knox Lovell is Honorary Professor with the Centre for Efficiency and Productivity Analysis in the School of Economics at the University of Queensland. He served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Productivity Analysis for a decade. He has authored several books, including Production Frontiers (with Färe and Grosskopf) and Stochastic Frontier Analysis (with Kumbhakhar) for Cambridge University Press. 


Jesus T. Pastor is a Professor in the Department of Statistics, Mathematics and Informatics at theCenter of Operations Research of University Miguel Hernandez, Elche (Alicante), Spain. He earned his Bachelor’s, Master, and Ph.D., all in Mathematics, at the University of Valencia, and was awarded as one of the three most distinguished Spanish Scientists of 2013 by the Scientific Spanish Association. His research interests are in Productivity and Efficiency, Statistics, and Informatics.


Joe Zhu is Professor of Operations Analytics in the Foisie Business School, Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He is an internationally recognized expert in methods of performance evaluation and benchmarking using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), and his research interests are in the areas of operations and business analytics, productivity modeling, and performance evaluation and benchmarking. He has published and co-edited several books focusing on performance evaluation and benchmarking using DEA and developed the DEAFrontier software.

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access