Frederico A. de Carvalho, Marcelino José Jorge, Marina Filgueiras Jorge, Mariza Russo and Nysia Oliveira de Sá
This paper intends to illustrate an application of data envelopment analysis (DEA) to assess library performance from an efficiency standpoint.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper intends to illustrate an application of data envelopment analysis (DEA) to assess library performance from an efficiency standpoint.
Design/methodology/approach
DEA modeling was applied to a convenience sample of 37 libraries affiliated to a federal university in Rio de Janeiro. Data were collected from the university's managerial database and refer to three inputs – number of employees, area and number of volumes – and four outputs – consultations, loans, enrolments and (user) traffic. Markovian analysis of transitions between efficient and inefficient states along time allowed a long‐term distribution between those states to be computed.
Findings
The retained DEA model provides a list of estimated scores that quantify efficiency status for each library unit and from which both rankings and operation plans can be determined for each unit to assist managers in their quest for library efficiency. In fact, (re)allocative measures, expressed as operation plans, indicate that, for each unit, some input(s) may be decreased and nonetheless some output(s) will increase. Those indicators may also be used to further or avoid either promised or planned changes.
Originality/value
As long as the efficiency principle is accepted the paper provides a three‐step procedure whereby any set of library units may be simultaneously assessed and ranked in relative terms and a set of quantitative operation plans may be used to (re)direct inefficient units toward efficiency. Whenever historical (e.g. annual) data are available, more adequate long‐term efficiency profiles will be computed, as well as some (e.g. yearly) durations relating to time spent in or before visiting (in)efficiency states. This model, combining short‐ and long‐term assessment, may be seen as a novelty contributed by the paper.
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Keywords
Marco Túlio Aniceto França, Gustavo Saraiva Frio and Mariza Bethanya Dalla Vecchia Korzeniewicz
The aim of this study is to evaluate the wage gap between men and women who seek self-employment in Brazil, whether because they want to become entrepreneurs out of necessity or…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to evaluate the wage gap between men and women who seek self-employment in Brazil, whether because they want to become entrepreneurs out of necessity or because of the flexible hours.
Design/methodology/approach
The data used are from the 2015 National Household Sample Survey (PNAD) and the methods are the ordinary least squares (OLS) for the Mean and the unconditional quantile regression (RIF-regression) for the distribution of gains of both genders, both associated with the Oaxaca–Ransom decomposition in order to separate the differential between the part explained by attributes and the unexplained part.
Findings
The main results show that women earn less than men in the mean and throughout the distribution. The average difference is 27.79%, varying between 19.24 and 48.26% in the distribution. The inclusion of occupational variables shows that the glass door phenomenon exists even in self-employment, that is, women choose occupations with lower incomes.
Originality/value
Stimulating self-employment has been an alternative policy for the insertion of women in the labor market. This is the first study on the wage gap in self-employment in the Brazilian labor market. The presence of wage differentials among self-employed men and women throughout the distribution may point to the need for specific policies that not only target the mean. These policies would be related to sticky floor and to the glass ceiling. Another potential problem concerns the so-called glass door–women access the labor market via professions that pay less, otherwise, the problem points to occupational segregation against women.
Peer Review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-05-2019-0312