The present book is the offspring of my Habilitation, which is the key to academic tenure in Austria. Legal requirements demand that a Ha bilitation be published and so only seeing it in print marks the real end of this biographical landmark project. From a scientific perspective I may hope to finally reach a broader audience with this book for a criti cal appraisal of the research done. Aside from objectives the book is a reflection of many years of research preceding Habilitation proper in the field of efficiency measurement. Regarding the subject matter the main intention was to fill an...

The present book is the offspring of my Habilitation, which is the key to academic tenure in Austria. Legal requirements demand that a Ha- bilitation be published and so only seeing it in print marks the real end of this biographical landmark project. From a scientific perspective I may hope to finally reach a broader audience with this book for a criti- cal appraisal of the research done. Aside from objectives the book is a reflection of many years of research preceding Habilitation proper in the field of efficiency measurement. Regarding the subject matter the main intention was to fill an...