Fuzzy Matrix Aggregate Calculator (MAC) as a Tool for Economic Systems Express Evaluation

Abstract

AbstractThe article describes a popular tool for economic analysis - the matrix aggregate calculator (MAC), which is widely used in various economic applications. To use the MAC, it is necessary: ​​1) to establish the investigated property of the economic system; 2) highlight the most significant factors for the analysis of the system and put them into 2–3 level hierarchy; 3) normalize factors, that is, interpret them as linguistic variables; 4) to order the factors according to the degree of decrease of their influence on the investigated property of the system. When all the initial data are collected, the current values ​​of the measured indicators are supplied to the MAC input, and an integral level estimate is generated at the output, from 0.1 to 0.9. The higher the score, the more pronounced the evaluated property is. This method is widely used in the analysis of economic systems within the following industry applications: 1) financial and economic analysis; 2) assessment of business risks; 3) assessment of the economic viability of the regions; 4) assessment of the economic resilience of corporations and industries. The 20-year experience of using MAC in Russia is described. The paper provides an example of a system analysis using MAC. The proposed MAC tool can be used only at the earliest stages of systems analysis, i.e. during the express assessment. The reason is that the analyzed factors can be logically related to each other. More advanced models for systems analysis are based on balanced scorecards (BSC).KeywordsMatrix aggregate calculator (MAC)Linguistic variablesBalanced scorecard (BSC)