Assessment of regional efficiency in Croatia

Achieving balanced national development and reducing interregional socio-economic disparities is a comprehensive economic challenge. In this book, regional efficiency of Croatian counties is measured and compared over the three-year period (2005-2007) using Data Envelopment Analysis. Efficient counties are identified as benchmark members, while inefficient counties are analysed in detail to determine not only the sources but also the amounts of their inefficiency in each source. Proper longitudinal monitoring of development dynamics is enabled by the application of window analysis. In order to alleviate naturally, historically and politically conditioned unequal county positions that affect regional efficiency but over which economic policy makers do not have total control, categorical approach is used. Combined with window analysis, this approach changes relations among efficiency scores. By identifying regional disparity determinants, the results obtained using an improved Data Envelopment Analysis model should assist policy makers in formulating the most beneficial regional policy decisions.

Autorentext

Danijela Rabar graduated Mathematics at the Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb and got her Master's degree at the same university, Faculty of Economics and Business. She works as senior assistant at University of Pula, Faculty of Economics and Tourism where she defended her PhD thesis in 2012.