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A Broad Performance Benchmark Based On Citizens’ Preferences: The Case Of Swedish Public Transportation

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  • Magnus Söderberg

Abstract

ABSTRACT**: Benchmarks have been recommended for assessing the relative performance of local government services. However, these are often narrowly defined and therefore ignore important welfare dimensions. This paper proposes a framework for benchmarking based on a combination of production and cost characteristics and citizens’ subjective perceptions. An evaluation consisting of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and different regression models is applied on all 21 Swedish regional public transport authorities, covering the period 2002–2006 (n = 103). The results indicate that the industry as a whole is about 70% efficient and that efficiency can be improved by increasing the sizes of the urban and the bus vehicle‐km shares. The optimal ownership structure is to have one large owner combined with about 25 small owners.

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  • Magnus Söderberg, 2009. "A Broad Performance Benchmark Based On Citizens’ Preferences: The Case Of Swedish Public Transportation," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 80(4), pages 579-603, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:annpce:v:80:y:2009:i:4:p:579-603
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8292.2009.00399.x
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    3. Daraio, Cinzia & Diana, Marco & Di Costa, Flavia & Leporelli, Claudio & Matteucci, Giorgio & Nastasi, Alberto, 2016. "Efficiency and effectiveness in the urban public transport sector: A critical review with directions for future research," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 248(1), pages 1-20.
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