Cinzia Daraio - Böcker

Providing a systematic and comprehensive treatment of recent developments in efficiency analysis, this readable book makes available an intuitive yet rigorous presentation of advanced nonparametric and robust methods. This flexible toolbox can be used in theories based on the neoclassical theory of production and its alternatives, including evolutionary theories. The methods are complemented by empirical analysis of three different economic fields: scientific research, mutual funds industry and the insurance sector. The research demonstrates the utility of the toolbox for a wide range of economic issues, including the analysis of economies of scale and scope, dynamics of age and agglomeration effects, trade-offs in production and service activities, and explanations of efficiency differentials. Of interest to applied economists broadly, this book will also be of interest to those focused on Operations Research and/or Management Science.

Providing a systematic and comprehensive treatment of recent developments in efficiency analysis, this readable book makes available an intuitive yet rigorous presentation of advanced nonparametric and robust methods. This flexible toolbox can be used in theories based on the neoclassical theory of production and its alternatives, including evolutionary theories. The methods are complemented by empirical analysis of three different economic fields: scientific research, mutual funds industry and the insurance sector. The research demonstrates the utility of the toolbox for a wide range of economic issues, including the analysis of economies of scale and scope, dynamics of age and agglomeration effects, trade-offs in production and service activities, and explanations of efficiency differentials. Of interest to applied economists broadly, this book will also be of interest to those focused on Operations Research and/or Management Science.

Although the role of universities in the knowledge society is increasingly significant, there remains a severe lack of systematic quantitative evidence at the micro-level, with virtually all policy discussion based on country level statistics or case studies. This book redresses the balance by examining original data from universities in six European countries - Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. The authors provide micro-based evidence on the evolution of the strategic profile of universities in terms of scientific research, contract research, education and the third mission. The result is a highly innovative book that combines detailed national case studies and comparative institutional analyses with state-of-the-art quantitative techniques.Applying for the first time new generations of nonparametric efficiency measures on a large scale, Universities and Strategic Knowledge Creation will be of great interest to researchers and postgraduate students in higher education, economics of science and technology, and innovation studies. It will also appeal to policymakers and administrators in governments, ministries and universities.