Abstract

Human resources in science and technology (HRST) are important for promoting national competitiveness. The capacity utilization of HRST refers to the ratio of the amount of output that can be produced using the installed productivity capacity to the optimal output. This study uses data envelopment analysis (DEA) to measure the capacity utilization of global ten countries. Six HRST productivity indexes from the 323 indexes listed in the world competitiveness yearbook published by IMD in 2010 were selected as a reference. In the process, a multiple criteria procedure is used to assess the performance in these nations. Observing the average efficiency values, Japan is the highest with a mean of 1.000. On top of that, Japan has the lowest standard deviation of 0.000. We also can see that the total productivity change score (Malmquist productivity indexes presented in column 5) is higher than one for almost all periods, except for 2008 to 2009 showing that a large proportion of group of ten countries experienced gains in total productivity in the five periods considered. The research provides evidence which establishes whether benchmarking provides a real and lasting benefit to nations. A series of managerial implications are set forth and discussed.

Key words: Malmquist index, window analysis, capacity utilization, data envelopment analysis (DEA).