This paper provides an assessment of the extent to which targets set by a public authority are achieved by its operational units. A rare DEA framework and its subsequent Malmquist indices are applied on data comprising 19 units over a four year period of 1996 to 1999. The mean efficiency scores...

Methodological issues relevant when assessing the efficiency of public units are discusses by Pedraja-Chaparro, Salinas-Jiménez and Smith with reference to non-parametric approaches. First they note that public sector activities usually are aimed at achieving various goals other than...