The Efficiency of Healthcare Systems in Europe: a Data Envelopment Analysis Approach

This paper aims at evaluating the efficiency of public healthcare systems in Europe by applying a nonparametric method such is Data Envelopment Analysis. For this purpose, statistical data for 30 European states for 2010 have been used. We have selected three output variables: life expectancy at birth, health adjusted life expectancy and infant mortality rate and three input variables: number of doctors, number of hospital beds and public health expenditures as percentage of GDP. Findings reveal that there are a number of both developed and developing countries on the efficiency frontier, while the great majority of the countries in the sample are inefficient.