Comparing products using data envelopment analysis

Using an application of linear programming known as Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), a method is described to compare products which vary in excellence along a number of dimensions, and for each of which there might be a number of associated “costs”. The method is illustrated by comparing published benchmarks of 37 computer printers. Potential uses of a DEA analysis of products might be: to assist corporate buyers who may need to reconcile a diversity of present and future uses in one standardised purchase; in competitor analysis; in determining unexplored market niches; and as a normative model of product excellence against which product purchasing behaviour could be compared.     

Inventory control in hospital blood banks

The delicate relationship between donors and the Transfusion Service in the U.K. implies a clear duty to make the best possible use of the limited blood supplies, and this turns attention upon the stocking policies adopted by Hospital Blood Banks. Whereas Blood Bank staff can obtain an intuitive grasp of the effects of various stock levels for the common bloods, this is not usually the case for the rare bloods which are more difficult to control. A policy decision has to be made which balances the conflicting stock requirements of maintaining a high availability and also low out-dating rates. A Markovian structure is exploited in this paper for this purpose and the effects of the key variables are shown to be interrelated. In any particular instance the form of the probability distribution of demand between replenishments, the scale of the throughput, the blood life in relation to the ordering interval, the fraction of blood transfused and the fraction of the replenishment order which is supplied to the Bank will together determine the form of the operating characteristics.     

Effect of population growth on changes in the agrarian structure of rural Bangladesh

The author examines available information on the effect of population growth on the agrarian structure of Bangladesh. Trends and patterns of land distribution over time are reviewed. The effects of changes in land distribution on productivity are investigated, and the relationship between family size and land ownership is analyzed.     

The aged in Bangladesh

This paper is "a preliminary effort to present a socio-economic profile of the aged in Bangladesh, their living arrangements and sources of support, the patterns of dependence on children and the nature of their future prospects in society."     

Hindu-Muslim differential fertility: how much religious and how much socio?

Data from the Bangladesh Fertility Survey (BFS) of 1975 were used to test the hypotheses that the higher the socioeconomic status, the lower the fertility and the narrower the difference in fertility between Muslims and Hindus; and the lower the socioeconomic status, the higher the fertility and the greater the difference in fertility between Muslims and Hindus. The core group for analysis in this study of women married only once and reported to fecund includes 3914 Muslims and 824 Hindus. Actual analysis was based on fewer than these 4738 because of nonresponse to 1 or more pertinent interview questions used in this study. Multiple classification analysis (MCA) was used to analyze the data. Prior to adjustment for the effect of other variables, the fertility of Muslims was a little lower than that of Hindus. The average number of children born to Muslims was 3.89; it was 3.95 for Hindus. Fertility tended to decline with improvement in socioeconomic status, i.e., increase in the level of education, i.e., no formal and primary level, and this almost converged at the middle and higher educational levels. At the lower levels of education, i.e., no formal and 1-5 grades, Muslims had .19-.34 children more than Hindus. This difference was reduced to .07 children at the middle level education, i.e., 6-9 grades. At the higher level of education, Muslims had .09 fewer children than Hindus, and this difference was statistically significant. Prior to adjustment for the effect of other variables, the fertility of Muslims was higher than that of Hindus at almost every level of age at marriage. This picture was reversed when adjustment was made for the effect of other variables. At the lower levels of age at marriage, Muslims has .23-.20 more children than Hindus. At the middle age at marriage, Muslims had .08 fewer children than Hindus. This difference was statistically significant. There was virtually no difference between the 2 groups at the higher age at marriage, i.e., 20-21 years. The effect of urbanization on fertility by education differed for Hindus and Muslims. For Hindus, fertility at each level of education was higher in urban than in rural areas. For Muslims, fertility at each level of education, particularly at higher levels, was lower in urban than in rural areas. No significant difference was found in the use of contraception between Muslims and Hindus at higher levels of education, but at lower levels of education contraceptive use among Hindus was significantly higher than for Muslims. The findings suggest that with an improvement in education, fertility will decline with a corresponding increase in the use of contraception and the difference in fertility and use of contraception between Muslims and Hindus will disappear. The findings also support the tenet that development, especially education, is the best formula for reducing fertility in poor countries.