Data envelopment analysis in financial services: a citations network analysis of banks, insurance companies and money market funds

Development and application of the data envelopment analysis (DEA) method, have been the subject of numerous reviews. In this paper, we consider the papers that apply DEA methods specifically to financial services, or which use financial services data to experiment with a newly introduced DEA model. We examine 620 papers published in journals indexed in the Web of Science database, from 1985 to April 2016. We analyse the sample applying citations network analysis. This paper investigates the DEA method and its applications in financial services. We analyse the diffusion of DEA in three sub-samples: (1) banking groups, (2) money market funds, and (3) insurance groups by identifying the main paths, that is, the main flows of the ideas underlying each area of research. This allows us to highlight the main approaches, models and efficiency types used in each research areas. No unique methodological preference emerges within these areas. Innovations in the DEA methodologies (network models, slacks based models, directional distance models and Nash bargaining game) clearly dominate recent research. For each subsample, we describe the geographical distribution of these studies, and provide some basic statistics related to the most active journals and scholars

20-Year Risks of Breast-Cancer Recurrence after Stopping Endocrine Therapy at 5 Years

The administration of endocrine therapy for 5 years substantially reduces recurrence rates during and after treatment in women with early-stage, estrogen-receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer. Extending such therapy beyond 5 years offers further protection but has additional side effects. Obtaining data on the absolute risk of subsequent distant recurrence if therapy stops at 5 years could help determine whether to extend treatment

Long-term outcomes for neoadjuvant versus adjuvant chemotherapy in early breast cancer: meta-analysis of individual patient data from ten randomised trials

Background Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) for early breast cancer can make breast-conserving surgery more feasible and might be more likely to eradicate micrometastatic disease than might the same chemotherapy given after surgery. We investigated the long-term benefits and risks of NACT and the influence of tumour characteristics on outcome with a collaborative meta-analysis of individual patient data from relevant randomised trials. Methods We obtained information about prerandomisation tumour characteristics, clinical tumour response, surgery, recurrence, and mortality for 4756 women in ten randomised trials in early breast cancer that began before 2005 and compared NACT with the same chemotherapy given postoperatively. Primary outcomes were tumour response, extent of local therapy, local and distant recurrence, breast cancer death, and overall mortality. Analyses by intention-to-treat used standard regression (for response and frequency of breast-conserving therapy) and log-rank methods (for recurrence and mortality). Findings Patients entered the trials from 1983 to 2002 and median follow-up was 9 years (IQR 5–14), with the last follow-up in 2013. Most chemotherapy was anthracycline based (3838 [81%] of 4756 women). More than two thirds (1349 [69%] of 1947) of women allocated NACT had a complete or partial clinical response. Patients allocated NACT had an increased frequency of breast-conserving therapy (1504 [65%] of 2320 treated with NACT vs 1135 [49%] of 2318 treated with adjuvant chemotherapy). NACT was associated with more frequent local recurrence than was adjuvant chemotherapy: the 15 year local recurrence was 21·4% for NACT versus 15·9% for adjuvant chemotherapy (5·5% increase [95% CI 2·4–8·6]; rate ratio 1·37 [95% CI 1·17–1·61]; p=0·0001). No significant difference between NACT and adjuvant chemotherapy was noted for distant recurrence (15 year risk 38·2% for NACT vs 38·0% for adjuvant chemotherapy; rate ratio 1·02 [95% CI 0·92–1·14]; p=0·66), breast cancer mortality (34·4% vs 33·7%; 1·06 [0·95–1·18]; p=0·31), or death from any cause (40·9% vs 41·2%; 1·04 [0·94–1·15]; p=0·45). Interpretation Tumours downsized by NACT might have higher local recurrence after breast-conserving therapy than might tumours of the same dimensions in women who have not received NACT. Strategies to mitigate the increased local recurrence after breast-conserving therapy in tumours downsized by NACT should be considered—eg, careful tumour localisation, detailed pathological assessment, and appropriate radiotherapy

BANK BRANCH OPERATING EFFICIENCY - A COMPARATIVE APPLICATION OF DEA AND THE LOGLINEAR MODEL

In this paper, a comparison regarding the operational efficiency of individual branches of a bank is made, through the application to the same body of data of two different estimation methods: (i) Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and (ii) Loglinear Model Analysis. In addition to that, the study examines whether operations in the bank branches were conducted in regions of increasing, constant or decreasing returns to scale. The DEA results suggest that increasing, constant or decreasing returns to scale may be observed in different regions of the production function, whereas the Loglinear model suggests that increasing returns to scale are in operation

EVALUATING THE RELATIVE OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY OF LARGE-SCALE COMPUTER-NETWORKS - AN APPROACH VIA DATA ENVELOPMENT ANALYSIS

The objective of the present study was the development of a methodology to be used as an aid in decision making for the attainment of optimum operational efficiency in large-scale computer communications networks. The above methodology is realized in two stages. In the first stage, a queueing model (M/M/1/K) of a typical network is developed, and analytical results for the main performance indicators are obtained. The results are used, in the second stage, as a starting point for the application of a data envelopment analysis (DEA) procedure to obtain characteristics of network operational efficiency. Emphasis is placed on suggestions for improving the efficiency level of (relatively) inefficient nodes; numerical examples are also provided to illustrate the applicability of various options. Finally, possible routes for achieving a higher level of overall network efficiency are discussed, within the context of a performance tuning procedure, which are aimed at reducing the effects of performance bottlenecks

COST-PERFORMANCE MODELING AND OPTIMIZATION OF NETWORK FLOW BALANCE VIA LINEAR GOAL PROGRAMMING ANALYSIS

The problem of flow balance in a long-haul computer communications network is investigated by means of a goal programming methodology which aims at optimizing the received (or end-to-end) throughput while keeping the total operational cost within reasonable limits. The modelling procedure employed, which makes use of lexicographic linear goal programming analysis, is considered to be an efficient technique for handling multiple goals compared to the conventional linear programming technique. The example case provided, which makes reference to a widely used packet satellite network (SATNET), illustrates the usefulness of the above modelling methodology which may be used as a tool for decision-making by the management of a network installation

Multiresidue determination of UV filters in water samples by solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry analysis

UV filters, contained in sunscreens and other cosmetic products, as well as in some plastics and industrial products, are nowadays considered contaminants of emerging concern because their widespread and increasing use has lead to their presence in the environment. Furthermore, some UV filters are suspected to have endocrine disruption activity. In the present work, we developed an analytical method based on liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry for the determination of UV filters in tap and lake waters. Sixteen UV filters were extracted from water samples by solid-phase extraction employing graphitized carbon black as adsorbent material. Handling 200 mL of water sample, satisfactory recoveries were obtained for almost all the analytes. The limits of detection and quantification of the method were comparable to those reported in other works, and ranged between 0.7-3.5 and 1.9-11.8 ng/L, respectively; however in our case the number of investigated compounds was larger. The major encountered problem in method development was to identify the background contamination sources and reduce their contribution. UV filters were not detected in tap water samples, whereas the analyses conducted on samples collected from three different lakes showed that the swimming areas are most subject to UV filter contamination. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim