General network production theory for good and bad inputs and outputs

Harald Dyckhoff ()
Additional contact information
Harald Dyckhoff: RWTH Aachen Technical University

Journal of Productivity Analysis, 2025, vol. 64, issue 1, No 3, 43-60

Abstract: Abstract The paper systematically extends a recently developed general production theory for networks of arbitrarily complex structure by utilising multi-criteria analysis to include undesirable objects as inputs and outputs. By embedding Koopmans’ linear activity analysis into the broader framework the approach is generic in that it requires rather weak technological properties, thus allowing non-convex and even discrete production possibilities without any disposability property. The modelling approach can often be more appropriate than conventional ones and can be easily extended to dynamic analyses, since its network flow equations are based on balances that can integrate inventories in cases of material inputs and outputs. Theorems are proved that relate important properties of whole networks (e.g. convexity) or of their activities (e.g. efficiency) to those of their individual production units. Common methods of efficiency measurement are integrated in such a way that network data envelopment analysis for bads as inputs or outputs is embedded as the special case focusing specifically on polyhedral technologies. By applying different types of efficiency measures, a systematic procedure for evaluating the performance of network activities is demonstrated for the example of a two-stage production and abatement network and its subsystem with parallel units.

Keywords: Network production theory; Undesirable object; Efficiency analysis; Network DEA; Environmental performance assessment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C14 C67 D24 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11123-025-00754-6 Abstract (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:kap:jproda:v:64:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s11123-025-00754-6

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer. ... cs/journal/11123/PS2

DOI: 10.1007/s11123-025-00754-6

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Productivity Analysis is currently edited by William Greene, Chris O'Donnell and Victor Podinovski

More articles in Journal of Productivity Analysis from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().