IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jecomi/v12y2024i6p128-d1399395.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Investigating the Efficiency of Insurance Companies in a Developing Country: A Data Envelopment Analysis Perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Katerina Fotova Čiković

    (Department of Economy, University North, Trg dr. Žarka Dolinara 1, 48000 Koprivnica, Croatia)

  • Violeta Cvetkoska

    (Faculty of Economics—Skopje, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Blvd. Goce Delchev 9V, 1000 Skopje, North Macedonia)

  • Mila Mitreva

    (Faculty of Economics, Goce Delcev University, 2000 Stip, North Macedonia)

Abstract

Insurance companies play a pivotal role in the financial systems of developing countries, wielding substantial influence on systemic financial stability. Thus, understanding their efficiency, performance, and sustainability is paramount for policymakers and stakeholders alike. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the relative efficiency of insurance companies within the North Macedonian market spanning the years 2018 to 2022. Employing the input-oriented BCC DEA model, the study integrates capital and labour as inputs, while assessing risk-pooling/bearing services and intermediate function as outputs. Our findings underscore the fluctuating efficiency levels within North Macedonia’s insurance sector. Notably, the sector exhibited its peak efficiency in 2018 at 83.62%, dipping to its lowest point of 73.81% in 2020. Moreover, discerning between life and non-life insurers, we observe an average relative efficiency of 0.8067 for non-life insurers, contrasted with a higher average efficiency score of 0.9011 for life insurance companies over the examined period. This study contributes significantly on multiple fronts. Firstly, it pioneers empirical investigation of the efficiency on the North Macedonian insurance market, encompassing pre- and post-COVID efficiency metrics. This fills a notable gap in the literature, particularly within the context of emerging European markets. Secondly, our comprehensive approach facilitates a holistic evaluation of the insurance sector’s performance across a five-year span, offering insights into its overarching dynamics and efficacy. Thirdly, the implications of our findings extend to policymakers, regulators, and insurance company management, aiding in informed decision-making and strategic planning.

Suggested Citation

  • Katerina Fotova Čiković & Violeta Cvetkoska & Mila Mitreva, 2024. "Investigating the Efficiency of Insurance Companies in a Developing Country: A Data Envelopment Analysis Perspective," Economies, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-20, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jecomi:v:12:y:2024:i:6:p:128-:d:1399395
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/12/6/128/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/12/6/128/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. William W. Cooper & Lawrence M. Seiford & Joe Zhu (ed.), 2011. "Handbook on Data Envelopment Analysis," International Series in Operations Research and Management Science, Springer, number 978-1-4419-6151-8, July-Dece.
    2. Emrouznejad, Ali & Yang, Guo-liang, 2018. "A survey and analysis of the first 40 years of scholarly literature in DEA: 1978–2016," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 4-8.
    3. Bulent Dervishi, 2020. "Investments and portfolio structure of private pension and insurance companies in North Macedonia," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 9(5), pages 227-234, September.
    4. Đurić Zlata & Jakšić Milena & Krstić Ana, 2020. "DEA Window Analysis of Insurance Sector Efficiency in the Republic of Serbia," Economic Themes, Sciendo, vol. 58(3), pages 291-310, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Feng Li & Qingyuan Zhu & Liang Liang, 2019. "A new data envelopment analysis based approach for fixed cost allocation," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 274(1), pages 347-372, March.
    2. Filip Fidanoski & Kiril Simeonovski & Violeta Cvetkoska, 2021. "Energy Efficiency in OECD Countries: A DEA Approach," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-21, February.
    3. Abbas Mardani & Dalia Streimikiene & Tomas Balezentis & Muhamad Zameri Mat Saman & Khalil Md Nor & Seyed Meysam Khoshnava, 2018. "Data Envelopment Analysis in Energy and Environmental Economics: An Overview of the State-of-the-Art and Recent Development Trends," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-21, August.
    4. José Solana‐Ibáñez & Manuel Caravaca‐Garratón & Ricardo Teruel‐Sánchez, 2020. "Stakeholder perception on corporate reputation and management efficiency: Evidence from the Spanish Defence sector," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5), pages 2381-2399, September.
    5. Manuel Salas‐Velasco, 2020. "Assessing the performance of Spanish secondary education institutions: Distinguishing between transient and persistent inefficiency, separated from heterogeneity," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 88(4), pages 531-555, July.
    6. Tommaso Agasisti & Giuseppe Munda & Ralph Hippe, 2019. "Measuring the efficiency of European education systems by combining Data Envelopment Analysis and Multiple-Criteria Evaluation," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 51(2), pages 105-124, June.
    7. Mohammad Izadikhah & Reza Farzipoor Saen, 2020. "Ranking sustainable suppliers by context-dependent data envelopment analysis," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 293(2), pages 607-637, October.
    8. Afsharian, Mohsen & Ahn, Heinz & Harms, Sören Guntram, 2021. "A review of DEA approaches applying a common set of weights: The perspective of centralized management," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 294(1), pages 3-15.
    9. Kohl, Sebastian & Brunner, Jens O., 2020. "Benchmarking the benchmarks – Comparing the accuracy of Data Envelopment Analysis models in constant returns to scale settings," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 285(3), pages 1042-1057.
    10. Ioannis E. Tsolas, 2021. "Firm Credit Scoring: A Series Two-Stage DEA Bootstrapped Approach," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-12, May.
    11. Ozana Nadoveza Jelic & Margareta Gardijan Kedzo, 2018. "Efficiency vs effectiveness: an analysis of tertiary education across Europe," Public Sector Economics, Institute of Public Finance, vol. 42(4), pages 381-414.
    12. Khezrimotlagh, Dariush & Kaffash, Sepideh & Zhu, Joe, 2022. "U.S. airline mergers’ performance and productivity change," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    13. Fernando Antonio Slaibe Postali, 2016. "Oil windfalls and X-inefficiency: evidence from Brazil," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 43(5), pages 699-718, October.
    14. Anastasiou Athanasios & Kalligosfyris Charalampos & Kalamara Eleni, 2022. "Assessing the effectiveness of tax administration in macroeconomic stability: evidence from 26 European Countries," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 55(4), pages 2237-2261, November.
    15. Hadi Ghafoorian & NikIntan Norhan & Mohammed Ndaliman Abubakar & Fazel Mohammadi Nodeh, 2013. "Efficiency Considering Credit Risk in Banking Industry, Using Two-stage DEA," Journal of Social and Development Sciences, AMH International, vol. 4(8), pages 356-360.
    16. Pishchulov, Grigory & Trautrims, Alexander & Chesney, Thomas & Gold, Stefan & Schwab, Leila, 2019. "The Voting Analytic Hierarchy Process revisited: A revised method with application to sustainable supplier selection," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 166-179.
    17. Esteban Lafuente & Jasmina Berbegal-Mirabent, 2019. "Assessing the productivity of technology transfer offices: an analysis of the relevance of aspiration performance and portfolio complexity," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 44(3), pages 778-801, June.
    18. Fathey Mohammed & Nabil Hasan Al-Kumaim & Ahmed Ibrahim Alzahrani & Yousef Fazea, 2023. "The Impact of Social Media Shared Health Content on Protective Behavior against COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-16, January.
    19. Matthias Klumpp & Dominic Loske, 2021. "Sustainability and Resilience Revisited: Impact of Information Technology Disruptions on Empirical Retail Logistics Efficiency," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-20, May.
    20. Duk Hee Lee & Il Won Seo & Ho Chull Choe & Hee Dae Kim, 2012. "Collaboration network patterns and research performance: the case of Korean public research institutions," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 91(3), pages 925-942, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jecomi:v:12:y:2024:i:6:p:128-:d:1399395. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.