An unsupervised learning-based generalization of Data Envelopment Analysis

A B S T R A C T In this paper, we introduce an unsupervised machine learning method for production frontier estimation. This new approach satisfies fundamental properties of microeconomics, such as convexity and free disposability (shape constraints). The new method generalizes Data Envelopment Anal...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Moragues, Raul, Aparicio, Juan, Esteve, Miriam
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche
Repositorio:REDIUMH. Depósito Digital de la UMH
OAI Identifier:oai:dspace.umh.es:11000/35086
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/11000/35086
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Data Envelopment Analysis
Unsupervised machine learning
Support Vector Machines
Frontier analysis
Technical efficiency
CDU::5 - Ciencias puras y naturales::51 - Matemáticas
Descripción
Sumario:A B S T R A C T In this paper, we introduce an unsupervised machine learning method for production frontier estimation. This new approach satisfies fundamental properties of microeconomics, such as convexity and free disposability (shape constraints). The new method generalizes Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) through the adaptation of One-Class Support Vector Machines with piecewise linear transformation mapping. The new technique aims to reduce the overfitting problem occurring in DEA. How to measure technical inefficiency through the directional distance function is also introduced. Finally, we evaluate the performance of the new technique via a computational experience, showing that the mean squared error in the estimation of the frontier is up to 83% better than the standard DEA in certain scenarios.