Article ID: | iaor20032113 |
Country: | Netherlands |
Volume: | 142 |
Issue: | 3 |
Start Page Number: | 476 |
End Page Number: | 479 |
Publication Date: | Nov 2002 |
Journal: | European Journal of Operational Research |
Authors: | Ali Agha Iqbal, Chen Yao |
Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a mathematical programming technique for identifying efficient frontiers for peer decision making units (DMUs). The ability of identifying frontier DMUs prior to the DEA calculation is of extreme importance to an effective and efficient DEA computation. In this paper, we present mathematical properties which characterize the inherent relationships between DEA frontier DMUs and output–input ratios. It is shown that top-ranked performance by ratio analysis is a DEA frontier point. This in turn allows identification of membership of frontier DMUs without solving a DEA program. Such finding is useful in streamlining the solution of DEA.