MS Excel based Software Support Tools for Decision Problems with Multiple Criteria

AbstractDecision making in real practice is usually connected with multiple criteria. Multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) and data envelopment analysis models, even they solve different problem classes, belong to the most often used modeling techniques in this field. Their wider using is often limited by availability of appropriate software tools. The paper presents two freeware software systems that are available for downloading on the author's web pages. The first system is DEA Excel Solver and the second one is Sanna – application for multi-criteria evaluation of alternatives. DEA Excel Solver covers basic DEA models and uses internal MS Excel optimization solver. The application includes standard envelopment models with constant and variable returns to scale including super-efficiency models. Sanna is a simple MS Excel based application for multi-criteria evaluation of alternatives using several important MCDM methods (WSA, ELECTRE I and III, ORESTE, PROMETHEE, TOPSIS, and MAPPAC)

Nezaposlenost i nepodudarnost tržišta rada u zemljama Europske Unije

The purpose of this paper is to investigate some of the main drivers of high unemployment rates in the European Union countries starting from two sources highlighted in the economic literature: the shortfall of the aggregate demand and the increasing labour market mismatches. Our analysis is based on a panel database and focuses on two objectives: to measure the long and short-term impact of GDP growth on unemployment over recent years for different categories of labour market participants (young, older and low educated workers) and to evaluate the relationship between mismatches related to skills (educational and occupational) and unemployment. One of the main conclusions is that unemployment rates of young and low educated workers are more responsive to economic growth variations both in the long and short run, while unemployment rates of older workers show a greater capacity of adjustment. In addition, occupational mismatches seem to have a significant long-term impact on the changes in unemployment of all categories of unemployed, whereas the short run effect is rather mixed, varying across countries. One explanation is the fact that during crisis, economy’s structure tends to change more rapidly than labour market and educational system can adapt.Svrha ovog rada je istražiti neke od glavnih uzroka visoke stope nezaposlenosti u zemljama Europske unije polazeći od dva ključna izvora u ekonomskoj literaturi: nedostatak ukupne potražnje i sve veće nepodudarnosti na tržištu rada. Analiza je provedena na temelju panel podataka i fokusira se na dva cilja: izmjeriti kratkoročni i dugoročni utjecaj rasta BDP na nezaposlenost za razne kategorije sudionika na tržištu rada (mladi, stari i radnici s nižom stručnom spremom) i ocijeniti odnos nepodudarnosti između vještina (obrazovnih i profesionalnih) i nezaposlenosti. Jedan od glavnih zaključaka jest da su promjene u stopama nezaposlenosti mladih i nisko obrazovanih osoba uvelike pod utjecajem dinamičnog ekonomskog rasta kako dugoročno, tako i kratkoročno, dok stope nezaposlenosti među starijima ukazuju na veću mogućnost prilagodbe. Nadalje, izgleda da profesionalna nepodudarnost ima značajan dugoročni utjecaj na promjenu u stopi nezaposlenosti svih kategorija nezaposlenih, dok je kratkoročni utjecaj mješovit i varira od zemlje do zemlje. Jedno objašnjenje je činjenica da se ekonomska struktura za vrijeme krize može mnogo brže mijenjati nego što se tržište rada i obrazovni sustav mogu prilagoditi

Re-Calculation of Happy Planet Index Using DEA Models

Happy Planet Index (HPI) is an aggregated index that measures the extent to which each nation produces long and happy lives per unit of environmental input. The HPI uses global data on life expectancy, experienced well-being, and ecological footprint to rank countries. The last HPI report was published in 2012 and it contains data for 151 countries from all continents. The aim of the paper is to re-calculate the HPI using DEA models and other multiple criteria decision making techniques and compare the results obtained results. MCDM methods evaluate alternatives (countries) according to the set of criteria with respect to given preferences. Most of them allow ranking of alternatives according to aggregated indices defined by various methods. DEA models compare the countries with the best performers in the data set and measure the efficiency of transformation of multiple inputs into multiple outputs. Even though they are based on different principles than MCDM methods they allow ranking of evaluated units according to their efficiency or super-efficiency scores. The paper analyzes both methodological approaches and compares their results

Vulnerability and resilience in health crises. Evidence from European countries

The purpose of this paper is to draw the first lessons from the on-going coronavirus crisis and to identify viable solutions for what should become the goal of any country: transforming their own economies into sensitive and responsive economies regarding public health problems. The originality of our approach is given by its objective as well as the strategy employed for verifying research hypotheses. The objective is twofold: detecting the indicators that may constitute signals for the vulnerability of countries in times of health crisis and highlighting the underlying factors of the resilience capacity. Many indicators have been considered: six indicators concerning Covid-19 pandemic and 27 socio-economic indicators. Three main hypotheses have been formulated and tested using various statistical methods. Our findings provide deep insights for understanding how Covid-19 crisis is correlated to specific economic (urbanization, sectorial employment, health system) and demographic factors (aging, mortality). The study has succeeded in identifying the pattern of a country with greater resilience and better ability to cope with a health crisis. Our results could be useful when forecasting the spread of another pandemic wave, its impact on people’s health and estimating how some markets will be reshaped