Using Multi-level DEA to Go Beyond the Three Dimensions of Sustainability

Sustainable development and sustainability are two notions that despite their importance for policy-making, have neither unified definitions nor a common methodological framework to measure them. The purpose of this paper is to propose a measure of sustainability that goes beyond the traditional, three-dimensional structure and accounts also for different definitions and perceptions. To do so, a new, multi-level DEA variation is used, and the method is tested to measure the sustainability of EU countries under three combinations of inputs and outputs (representing perceptions of what sustainability is). The results illustrate that there are countries with variations in the results for the different combinations of inputs and outputs. Thus, no safe conclusions can be drawn for these countries, since the different perceptions alter the measurement level of sustainability.