Modelling undesirable outputs in multiple objective data envelopment analysis

Abstract

Recent empirical and conceptual work in data envelopment analysis (DEA) have emphasised its potential importance in highlighting the environmental performance of economic entities. Initial work in this emerging research area has focused on the separation of output factors into desirable and undesirable ones. In this paper, we describe recent developments in the modelling undesirable outputs. In particular, the modelling of undesirable outputs in the range adjusted measure (RAM) is investigated. We discuss some of the difficulties of RAM in assessing the environmental efficiency of decision-making units (DMUs) and develop a multiple objective DEA model to overcome these difficulties. The proposed multiple objective model is solved as a linear programming and its applicability as a mechanism for assessing environmental efficiency is demonstrated by evaluating the technical, ecological and process environmental quality efficiency scores of China’s provinces.

Keywords:

• Data envelopment analysis
• multiple objective
• undesirable outputs
• ecological efficiency
• process environmental quality efficiency

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments which significantly improved an earlier version of this paper.