Measuring Port Efficiency: An Application of Data Envelopment Analysis

Poitras, Geoffrey and Tongzen, Jose and Li, Hongyu (1996): Measuring Port Efficiency: An Application of Data Envelopment Analysis.

Abstract

Available studies have not provided a satisfactory answer to the problem of making international comparisons of port efficiency. This study applies data envelopment analysis (DEA) to provide an efficiency ranking for five Australian and eighteen other international container ports. While DEA has been applied to a wide number of different situations where efficiency comparisons are required, this technique has not previously been applied to ports. The DEA technique is useful in resolving the measurement of port efficiency because the calculations are non-parametric and do not require specification or knowledge of a priori weights for the inputs or outputs, as is required for estimation of efficiency using production functions.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Data Envelopment Analysis; Port Efficiency Measurement; Port ranking
• Subjects: C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C4 - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics; C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C4 - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics > C44 - Operations Research ; Statistical Decision Theory; F - International Economics > F1 - Trade; F - International Economics > F1 - Trade > F13 - Trade Policy ; International Trade Organizations; L - Industrial Organization > L9 - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities; L - Industrial Organization > L9 - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities > L91 - Transportation: General

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