Transformations  in
Business & Economics

SOCIAL PROTECTION EFFICIENCY IN THE EUROPEAN COUNTRIES: NON-PARAMETRIC APPROACH BY USING DEA METHODOLOGY²
Renata Halaskova, Beata Gavurova, Kristina Kocisova

ABSTRACT. The main aim of the study is to evaluate an efficiency of social protection in terms of pensions and social exclusion/housing in the period 2010 - 2017 for a selected sample of 28 European countries. Data Envelopment Analysis is used to analyse social protection efficiency and its subsequent evaluation of changes in the efficiency development of social protection in terms of pensions and social exclusion/housing for the two periods 2010 - 2013 and 2014 - 2017. The social protection efficiency results for the period 2010 - 2017 show more considerable differences in efficiency in terms of pensions as opposed to social exclusion/housing. In a majority of the European countries, there prevails a growth of a total efficiency of social protection in both evaluated areas. The efficiency growth in pensions, in the period 2010 - 2013, was influenced by a technical efficiency growth, and also by pension system changes, while in the period 2014 - 2017, it was especially influenced by the technical efficiency growth. On the other hand, the efficiency growth in the area of social exclusion/housing in the first period was affected by the technical efficiency growth. In the second period, it was mostly affected by the changes in the social assistance system.

KEYWORDS:  efficiency, social protection, pensions, social exclusion and housing, DEA methodology.

JEL classification:  H55, I38, C61.

²Acknowledgment:  This work is supported by the Scientific Grant Agency of the Ministry of Education, Science, Research, and Sport of the Slovak Republic and the Slovak Academy Sciences as part of the research project VEGA 1/0797/20: "Quantification of Environmental Burden Impacts of the Slovak Regions on Health, Social and Economic System of the Slovak Republic" and within project VEGA 1/0683/21 "Generation Gap and Provision of Public Services and Administration".

Disclosure statement:  Authors declare that they do not have any competing financial, professional, or personal interests from other parties.