Economic Complexity and Human Development: DEA performance measurement in Asia and Latin America

This paper aimed to determine how efficiently nations from Latin America and Asia measure a country’s performance in converting Economic Complexity into Human Development, between 2010 and 2014. We used Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), through the Variable Returns of Scale (VRS) Model and Window Analysis. Results showed that in 2014, all Asian countries, except China and the Philippines, were efficient; on the other hand Cuba was the benchmark for inefficient countries.

Window Analysis showed Japan, South Korea and Singapore were efficient over time. This result confirms the initial hypothesis of this article: the more complex countries are the more efficiently they create Human Development.