This note shows how the linear programs needed to compute cost and revenue functions under constant returns to scale and a single output or input, respectively, can be replaced with a more efficient enumeration algorithm. A numerical example illustrates this algorithm

This contribution compares existing and newly developed techniques for geometrically representing mean-variance-skewness portfolio frontiers based on the rather widely adapted methodology of polynomial goal programming (PGP) on the one hand and the more recent approach based on the shortage...

The need to adapt Data Development Analysis (DEA) and other frontier models in the context of negative data has been a rather neglected issue in the literature. Silva Portela, Thanassoulis, and Simpson (2004) proposed a variation on the directional distance function, a very general distance...

This paper proposes a pragmatic, discrete time indicator to gauge the performance of portfolios over time. Integrating the shortage function (Luenberger, 1995) into a Luenberger portfolio productivity indicator (Chambers, 2002), this study estimates the changes in the relative positions of...

The literature suggests that investors prefer portfolios based on mean, variance and skewness rather than portfolios based on mean-variance (MV) criteria solely. Furthermore, a small variety of methods have been proposed to determine mean-variance-skewness (MVS) optimal portfolios. Recently, the...

The cod stock in the North Sea is threatened by overexploitation. To recover this fishing stock, pressure needs to be reduced. This implies that catch compositions with small amounts of cod are preferred by public policy makers. The present analysis assesses the technological efficiency of...

In the literature, two main ratio-based productivity indices have been defined in terms of a primal technology notion. While the Malmquist productivity index has become very popular, it has the problem that it is not always well-defined. By contrast, the less popular Hicks Moorsteen productivity...

Quite a few studies have considered efficiency at the bank branch level by comparing mostly a single branch network, while an abundance of studies have focused on comparing banking institutions. However, to the best of our knowledge no study has ever assessed performance at the level of the...

In a recent article, Briec, Kerstens and Vanden Eeckaut (2004) develop a series of nonparametric, deterministic non-convex technologies integrating traditional returns to scale assumptions into the non-convex FDH model. They show, among other things, how the traditional technical input...