Effectiveness of pension systems in post-Soviet countries – evaluation using the CCR model

The purpose of this publication was to show the most effective pension system among post-Soviet states. The author did this using the CCR model, which belongs to the group of models from the DEA method. This action will allow further analyses to show the essential features of an effective pension system so that other post-Soviet countries can model it and reform it. Besides the critical analysis of the literature on the subject, the article uses statistical analysis measures and, in line with the goal, an analysis of effectiveness using the CCR model. In the subsequent parts of the publication, interpretations of effectiveness are presented, the theoretical foundations of the DEA method are quoted, and have been showed the essence of the CCR model. Then, the process of the study was submitted, and the results got were discussed and it based the conclusions on them [...]

An evaluation of cross-efficiency methods: With an application to warehouse performance

Cross-efficiency measurement is an extension of Data Envelopment Analysis that allows for tie-breaking ranking of the Decision Making Units (DMUs) using all the peer evaluations. In this article we examine the theory of cross-efficiency measurement by comparing a selection of methods popular in the literature. These methods are applied to performance measurement of European warehouses. We develop a cross-efficiency method based on a rank-order DEA model to accommodate the ordinal nature of some key variables characterizing warehouse performance. This is one of the first comparisons of methods on a real-life dataset and the first time that a model allowing for qualitative variables is included in such a comparison. Our results show that the choice of model matters, as one obtains statistically different rankings from each one of them. This holds in particular for the multiplicative and game-theoretic methods whose results diverge from the classic method. From a managerial perspective, focused on the applicability of the methods, we evaluate them through a multidimensional metric which considers their capability to rank DMUs, their ease of implementation, and their robustness to sensitivity analyses. We conclude that standard weight-restriction methods, as initiated by Sexton et al. [48], perform as well as recently introduced, more sophisticated alternativesSpanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación), the State Research Agency (Agencia Estatal de Investigación) and the European Regional Development Fund (Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional) under grants EIN2020-11226

An order acceptance using FAHP and TOPSIS methods: A case study of Iranian vehicle belt production industry

Decisions related to acceptance or rejection of orders play an important role in companies engaged in make-to-order production. The incoming orders have a specific delivery date by which the customer expects the due date to be met and the order delivered. In some cases the level of input orders exceeds beyond the existing capacity. In such situations the main concern is to decide which orders must be accepted and which ones rejected taking into account the available production capacity. This paper prioritises the input orders according to a comprehensive and systematic multi criteria decision making (MCDM) model. It then proceeds with making decisions to either accept or reject orders according to the calculated prioritises and production constraints. Ultimately the optimum list of orders for acceptance is determined. The proposed model is a combination of two techniques of Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). In this model FAHP is used to determine the weights of criteria and TOPSIS is used for prioritizing the orders. Finally the proposed model is tested for its efficiency by application to a real case

Essays on the measurement of school efficiency

Measuring school efficiency is a challenging task. First, a performance measurement technique has to be selected. Within Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), one such technique, alternative models have been developed in order to deal with environmental variables. The majority of these models lead to diverging results. Second, the choice of input and output variables to be included in the efficiency analysis is often dictated by data availability. The choice of the variables remains an issue even when data is available. As a result, the choice of technique, model and variables is probably, and ultimately, a political judgement. Multi-criteria decision analysis methods can help the decision makers to select the most suitable model. The number of selection criteria should remain parsimonious and not be oriented towards the results of the models in order to avoid opportunistic behaviour. The selection criteria should also be backed by the literature or by an expert group. Once the most suitable model is identified, the principle of permanence of methods should be applied in order to avoid a change of practices over time. Within DEA, the two-stage model developed by Ray (1991) is the most convincing model which allows for an environmental adjustment. In this model, an efficiency analysis is conducted with DEA followed by an econometric analysis to explain the efficiency scores. An environmental variable of particular interest, tested in this thesis, consists of the fact that operations are held, for certain schools, on multiple sites. Results show that the fact of being located on more than one site has a negative influence on efficiency. A likely way to solve this negative influence would consist of improving the use of ICT in school management and teaching. Planning new schools should also consider the advantages of being located on a unique site, which allows reaching a critical size in terms of pupils and teachers. The fact that underprivileged pupils perform worse than privileged pupils has been public knowledge since Coleman et al. (1966). As a result, underprivileged pupils have a negative influence on school efficiency. This is confirmed by this thesis for the first time in Switzerland. Several countries have developed priority education policies in order to compensate for the negative impact of disadvantaged socioeconomic status on school performance. These policies have failed. As a result, other actions need to be taken. In order to define these actions, one has to identify the social-class differences which explain why disadvantaged children underperform. Childrearing and literary practices, health characteristics, housing stability and economic security influence pupil achievement. Rather than allocating more resources to schools, policymakers should therefore focus on related social policies. For instance, they could define pre-school, family, health, housing and benefits policies in order to improve the conditions for disadvantaged children

Pensions today - economic, managerial, and social issues

The book is double-blind peer reviewed.Lodz University of Technology Press does not take responsibility for the content and editing of this publication.Cover design: Gajderowicz, AleksandraWydawnictwo PŁ nie ponosi odpowiedzialności za treść i opracowanie redakcyjne niniejszej publikacji.The monograph includes 23 chapters addressing the problems of contemporary pensions from both a general and a national view, studied from a theoretical or empirical perspective. The book is structured as follows. First, the managerial, administrative and business aspects of retirement and pension wealth are discussed. The next five sections are devoted to very important and current problems of family and gender issues in the context of old-age social security. The subsequent six chapters refer to other social and economic aspects of pensions with some references to social security reforms. In the next three sections, some financial and actuarial issues are discussed and investigated. Finally, in the last five chapters, the authors address selected problems of pension reform with special attention paid to their policy and legal aspects. In these 23 chapters, issues concerning various countries are presented. In some chapters, a single-country empirical approach is employed (with reference to Poland, Spain, Turkey, Slovakia, Latvia, or Czechia, for example), whereas some other sections present multinational studies