Abstract

Effective performance evaluation for sustainable development is significantly important for determining the dynamic harmony and balance of environment, economy and society. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) has been widely applied in the field of sustainability evaluation modeling in recent years. In this study, the application of DEA in sustainable development field research is systematically reviewed. The entire framework of DEA in sustainable development research is constructed, and the characteristics of the research works are summarized. The principal characters used in previous studies are identified and compared, and then the methodological framework for deriving sustainable development indicators is introduced. Finally, from the two aspects of method and experience, this study summarizes some beneficial points of model selection. Based on this, the expectation of DEA method in the process of sustainable development is further discussed.

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