A DEA-based malmquist productivity index approach in assessing road safety performance

Abstract

The data envelopment analysis (DEA) based Malmquist productivity index measures the productivity change over time. It can be further decomposed into two components: the change in efficiency and the technical change. In this study, a specific road safety output-oriented DEA-based Malmquist productivity index is introduced to assess the changes in road safety performance of 26 EU countries from 2000 to 2007. The results show a considerable road safety progress in most of the member states during this period. The decomposition into the two components further reveals that the bulk of the improvement was attained through the adoption of new road safety technologies or strategies, i.e., the technical change, rather than through the relatively inefficient countries catching up with those efficient ones, known as the efficiency change.