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Eco-efficiency analysis of French firms: a data envelopment analysis approach

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Abstract

This paper addresses the issue of assessing eco-efficiency when good and undesirable outputs are jointly produced. We propose that eco-efficiency can be decomposed into two parts: resource efficiency and ecological efficiency. We provide a conceptual framework based on data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach to measure and benchmark eco-efficiency. The study is conducted between 2011 and 2012 using real data from 17 French firms belonging to the services to consumers industry, by developing DEA-based models. The results indicate that only three firms in the sample of the study are relatively eco-efficient. We find that eco-efficiency is closely related to environmental efficiency. The results also show that company size, expressed in terms of turnover and number of employees, is inversely related to eco-efficiency scores.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Université de Cergy-Pontoise, Cergy-Pontoise, France

    Béchir Ben Lahouel

  2. ESSEC Chair of Change, ESSEC Business School, Cergy-Pontoise, France

    Béchir Ben Lahouel

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  1. Béchir Ben Lahouel
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Correspondence to Béchir Ben Lahouel.

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Lahouel, B.B. Eco-efficiency analysis of French firms: a data envelopment analysis approach. Environ Econ Policy Stud 18, 395–416 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10018-015-0115-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10018-015-0115-4

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