In this study, we modify the slack-based measure network data envelopment analysis (SBM network DEA) approach proposed by Kao (2014b) to calculate the efficiency of regional economic systems in Taiwan's counties/cities during the period 2003~2014. For applying the SBM network DEA model to analyze the efficiency of the economic system, we divide the regional economic system of Taiwan's counties/cities into a series of five stages- entrepreneurship, sustainability, operation, distribution, and consumption-and include the shared inputs and undesirable variables in the analysis framework. Our findings indicate that the average efficiency scores at the operation and consumption stages in the economic systems are the highest and lowest, respectively. We also observe a gap between the average efficiency at the entrepreneurship and operation stages between the urban and rural areas. Besides, gaps exist between the service and non-service counties/cities at the sustainability, operation, allocation, and consumption stages in Taiwan's counties/cities. Finally, we identify wider efficiency differences among the regions in all the stages. Local officials responsible for the economic development can find out their own advantage and disadvantage stages and select the prior stages to improve the system performance according to our empirical results.
本研究應用差額衡量之網絡資料包絡法衡量2003~2014年間台灣各縣市經濟體系之效率;將各縣市的地區性經濟體系分為五個階段:創業、存活、營運、分配、及消費等;研究結果顯示,在2003~2014年間各縣市的地區經濟體系的平均效率以營運階段為最高,消費階段為最低;其次城鄉縣市在創業與營運階段都有顯著的差異;服務業與非服務業縣市在存活、營運、分配與消費等階段存在顯著差異;最後,從台灣東、西、南、北四個區域來看,則各個區域在不同的階段有其擅長之處;各縣市主管經濟發展的官員可發現該縣市的優勢與劣勢階段,並據此作為優先施政的選項,改善其整體經濟體系的表現。