Data envelopment analysis and the concept of sustainability: A review and analysis of the literature

Abstract Sustainable development and sustainability have been the targets of policy making on every level and the focus of multi-national agreements. However, both notions are vaguely defined and no concrete methodological guidance is offered on how to achieve them. One methodology that is increasingly being used to measure sustainability is Data Envelopment Analysis. The purpose of the current paper is to review the literature from 2017 until 2020 and investigate how researchers have used Data Envelopment Analysis to measure sustainability. Building also from the conclusions of previous reviews, results indicate that the social dimension of sustainability is still underrepresented. Furthermore, proxy indices are used as a substitute for sustainability. Despite their important merits, such measures do not fully capture the multi-dimensional structure of sustainability and sustainable development. Finally, the review illustrates that the majority of applications concerns Asian nations or Chinese regions, while the study on European areas and/or nations appears to be lagging considerably.