Efficiency of the Slovak forestry in comparison to other European countries: An application of Data Envelopment Analysis

Efficiency improvement is important for increasing the competitiveness of any sector and the same is essential for the forestry sector. A non-parametric approach – Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was used for the assessment of forestry efficiency. The paper presents the results of the efficiency evaluation of forestry in European countries using DEA. One basic and two modified models (labour and wood sale) were proposed, based on available input and output data from Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounts for Forests and specific conditions of forestry also. The sample size was 22 countries and the data for 2005–2008 was processed. Obtained results show average efficiency in the range of 69 – 90% (depending on the model). Based on the results of the analysis following can be concluded: Slovak forestry achieved under average efficiency in comparison to other European countries, there were great differences in efficiency among individual countries; state of economy (advanced countries and countries with economy in transition) and region did not influence the efficiency statistically significant.