Abstract
Efficiency is what makes a thing what it is, serving a purpose or realizing a utility; it is a relation between ends and means. Its measure is the extent to which these are matched, so with given ends it would be the choice criterion for the means. It is a pervasive idea, and it would be excessive to regard it as belonging peculiarly to economics.
Research supported by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
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Afriat, S.N. (1988). Efficiency in Production and Consumption. In: Dogramaci, A., Färe, R. (eds) Applications of Modern Production Theory: Efficiency and Productivity. Studies in Productivity Analysis, vol 9. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3253-1_11
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