Joined Efficiency and Productivity Evaluation of Tunisian Commercial Seaports Using DEA-Based Approaches

Seaports are important infrastructures to support international trade. Therefore, it is vital that port efficiency and productivity are continuously evaluated and improved. In this context, the objective of this article is to evaluate both the technical efficiency and the change in productivity of t...

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Main Authors: Mohsen Ben Mabrouk, Manel Elmsalmi, Awad M. Aljuaid, Wafik Hachicha, Sami Hammami
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-05-01
Series:Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/10/5/626
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author Mohsen Ben Mabrouk
Manel Elmsalmi
Awad M. Aljuaid
Wafik Hachicha
Sami Hammami
author_facet Mohsen Ben Mabrouk
Manel Elmsalmi
Awad M. Aljuaid
Wafik Hachicha
Sami Hammami
author_sort Mohsen Ben Mabrouk
collection DOAJ
description Seaports are important infrastructures to support international trade. Therefore, it is vital that port efficiency and productivity are continuously evaluated and improved. In this context, the objective of this article is to evaluate both the technical efficiency and the change in productivity of the six most important Tunisian commercial seaports, Bizerte, Rades, Sousse, Sfax, Gabes, and Zarzis, over a period of twelve years from 2005 to 2016. To achieve this objective, the data envelopment analysis (DEA) method is applied. The first output-oriented DEA application is about efficiency evaluation, which, for each seaport, allows the estimation of overall technical efficiency, pure technical efficiency, and scale efficiency. The second application concerns the evolution of the productivity of Tunisian seaports during the study period using the Malmquist DEA-based productivity index. The productivity analysis is performed according to the year (period) and according to each studied seaport. The first output-oriented DEA method provides that the overall technical efficiency in the above-mentioned ports is 69.4% while the pure technical efficiency is 83.3%. Furthermore, the average scale efficiency is about 82.6%, which implies that the decreasing type of returns to scale dominates in this study. Regarding the second DEA application for productivity evolution, the obtained results from the data analysis revealed that it fell by 6.7%, mainly due to the degradation of the technological change (8.3%). The results obtained provide useful basic criteria for establishing efficiency improvement strategies for each studied seaport.
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spelling doaj.art-6d876614ea1448eaabf2413cf4e0c2402023-11-23T11:39:27ZengMDPI AGJournal of Marine Science and Engineering2077-13122022-05-0110562610.3390/jmse10050626Joined Efficiency and Productivity Evaluation of Tunisian Commercial Seaports Using DEA-Based ApproachesMohsen Ben Mabrouk0Manel Elmsalmi1Awad M. Aljuaid2Wafik Hachicha3Sami Hammami4Laboratoire d’Economie de Developpement (LED), Faculty of Economics and Management of Sfax, University of Sfax, Airport Road Km 4 Sfax, Sfax 3018, TunisiaOLID Laboratory, Higher Institute of Industrial Management Sfax, University of Sfax, Technopole of Sfax, Sfax 3021, TunisiaDepartment of Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi ArabiaLaboratoire d’Economie de Developpement (LED), Faculty of Economics and Management of Sfax, University of Sfax, Airport Road Km 4 Sfax, Sfax 3018, TunisiaSeaports are important infrastructures to support international trade. Therefore, it is vital that port efficiency and productivity are continuously evaluated and improved. In this context, the objective of this article is to evaluate both the technical efficiency and the change in productivity of the six most important Tunisian commercial seaports, Bizerte, Rades, Sousse, Sfax, Gabes, and Zarzis, over a period of twelve years from 2005 to 2016. To achieve this objective, the data envelopment analysis (DEA) method is applied. The first output-oriented DEA application is about efficiency evaluation, which, for each seaport, allows the estimation of overall technical efficiency, pure technical efficiency, and scale efficiency. The second application concerns the evolution of the productivity of Tunisian seaports during the study period using the Malmquist DEA-based productivity index. The productivity analysis is performed according to the year (period) and according to each studied seaport. The first output-oriented DEA method provides that the overall technical efficiency in the above-mentioned ports is 69.4% while the pure technical efficiency is 83.3%. Furthermore, the average scale efficiency is about 82.6%, which implies that the decreasing type of returns to scale dominates in this study. Regarding the second DEA application for productivity evolution, the obtained results from the data analysis revealed that it fell by 6.7%, mainly due to the degradation of the technological change (8.3%). The results obtained provide useful basic criteria for establishing efficiency improvement strategies for each studied seaport.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/10/5/626technical efficiencytotal factor productivitydata envelopment analysis (DEA)Malmquist productivity index (MPI)seaport efficiencyseaport productivity
spellingShingle Mohsen Ben Mabrouk
Manel Elmsalmi
Awad M. Aljuaid
Wafik Hachicha
Sami Hammami
Joined Efficiency and Productivity Evaluation of Tunisian Commercial Seaports Using DEA-Based Approaches
Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
technical efficiency
total factor productivity
data envelopment analysis (DEA)
Malmquist productivity index (MPI)
seaport efficiency
seaport productivity
title Joined Efficiency and Productivity Evaluation of Tunisian Commercial Seaports Using DEA-Based Approaches
title_full Joined Efficiency and Productivity Evaluation of Tunisian Commercial Seaports Using DEA-Based Approaches
title_fullStr Joined Efficiency and Productivity Evaluation of Tunisian Commercial Seaports Using DEA-Based Approaches
title_full_unstemmed Joined Efficiency and Productivity Evaluation of Tunisian Commercial Seaports Using DEA-Based Approaches
title_short Joined Efficiency and Productivity Evaluation of Tunisian Commercial Seaports Using DEA-Based Approaches
title_sort joined efficiency and productivity evaluation of tunisian commercial seaports using dea based approaches
topic technical efficiency
total factor productivity
data envelopment analysis (DEA)
Malmquist productivity index (MPI)
seaport efficiency
seaport productivity
url https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/10/5/626
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