Abstract
Growing socioeconomic inequalities and deepening polarization among and within nations indicate a major risk of political, social and economic instability. Policymakers need to deepen their awareness and understanding of the circumstances and find useful guidance and examples to inspire their effective qualitative and quantitative policies. This paper empirically investigates the relative dynamic socio-economic efficiency of thirty OECD countries using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) methodology. As an extension to the basic output-oriented DEA models with variable returns-to-scale, window analysis is employed. The appropriate design of window length is also proposed in the study. In the first step, the relative efficiency of the countries was measured by four economic indicators. In the second step, four new indicators were added, covering social, institutional and environmental dimensions. It is found that performance rankings change, in some cases, very significantly and that the overall relative performance of the OECD countries increases when the set of economic indicators is extended. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ee.28.4.18502
Highlights
Global inequality has been the subject of intense debate, as different data sources show different levels and trends
The aim of this study is to show that Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method used in economic growth analysis offers robust and valuable results
The relative efficiency of the OECD members was empirically assessed based on the reciprocal performance comparison of thirty countries, using DEA window analysis
Summary
Global inequality has been the subject of intense debate, as different data sources show different levels and trends. According to the IMF, the Great Recession at the end of the first decade of the 21st century was the worst global recession since World War II This economic crisis highlighted the urgency to address multiple and widening socio-economic inequalities, health (Jakubowska & Horvathova, 2016) and development gaps, both between and within countries, which is crucial for moving beyond embracing disproportionality and disparities and for implementing a growth model driven by equity. This is of utmost importance, especially for less developed regions, to raise the quality of life and living standards. Practical insight into the core of this problem may be provided by the integration of theory and empirics
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
