This paper presents a series of simple but realistic examples in which common algebraic indexing conventions are not so convenient. In particular, it analyzes the difficulties caused by the conventions that each model component must have a fixed number of indices and that the order of the...

In 1988, Byrnes, Färe, Grosskopf and Lovell define a decomposition of inefficiency differentials into scale and congestion components. This note shows that the decomposition may be sensitive to the order in which the two components are calculated, and, consequently, use of the decomposition may...

A mixed-integer linear programming model was formulated to minimize the cost of transport and processing of excess manure in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The results showed that primarily poultry manure was moved out of surplus counties for land application or processing. In the base model,...

This paper develops the first operational tests of portfolio efficiency based on the general stochastic dominance (SD) criteria that account for an infinite set of diversification strategies. The main insight is to preserve the cross-sectional dependence of asset returns when forming portfolios...

In a recent paper, Petersen (Petersen, N. C. 1990. Data envelopment analysis on a relaxed set of assumptions. Management Sci. 36 305--314.) proposed to relax the convexity assumptions invoked in traditional Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Unfortunately, the new approach is not consistent with...

In combinatorial auctions, multiple distinct items are sold simultaneously and a bidder may place a single bid on a set (package) of distinct items. The determination of packages for bidding is a nontrivial task, and existing efficient formats require that bidders know the set of packages and/or...

Motivated by a problem faced by a large manufacturer of a consumer product, we explore the interaction between production planning and capacity acquisition decisions in environments with demand growth. We study a firm producing multiple items in a multiperiod environment where demand for items...

This paper develops a model for allocating cross-trained workers at the beginning of a shift in a multidepartment service environment. It assumes departments are trying to maximize objective functions that are concave with respect to the number of workers assigned. Worker capabilities are...

Public-sector planning problems are typically complex, and some important planning issues cannot be captured within a mathematical programming model of a problem; such issues may be qualitative in nature, unknown, or unrevealed by decisionmakers. Furthermore, there are often numerous solutions...