Efficiency measurement of selected Korean and other international ports using stepwise data envelopment analysis (SDEA)

초록

How does the port of Incheon fare with the other major ports of South Korea and the major Chinese ports in terms of efficiency? This paper attempts to measure the efficiency of selected Korean and other international ports. Although much study has already been done to assess the comparative advantages of each of the major Korean ports, no study has yet been undertaken to assess their relative performances in terms of efficiency. DEA, which has been used in previous studies, is the most appropriate tool for measuring port efficiency because it is specifically designed to measure productivity and can provide a convenient and effective framework for productivity monitoring and management. One major limitation of adopting DEA however is its lack of statistical tests of significance for the inclusion or exclusion of the postulated variables and the lack of significance tests for the fitness of the model. This paper overcomes this limitation by using a stepwise DEA analysis.