In this paper the question of returns to scale in scientific production is analyzed using nonparametric techniques for multidimensional efficiency measurement. Based on survey data for German research groups from three scientific fields it is shown that the multidimensional production...

Under fairly general assumptions requiring neither a differentiable frontier nor a constant-returns-to-scale technology, this paper introduces a new definition of an optimal scale size based on the minimization of unit costs. The corresponding measure, average-cost efficiency, combines scale and...