Efficiency ranking of provinces in Turkey using NUTS-3

The study measures the regional efficiencies of provinces in Turkey using NUTS (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics) Level 3 data. Principal component analysis (PCA) and data envelopment analysis (DEA) are used. The principal component analysis was used for the data preparation phase, resulting in the data being expressed in 12 components. Additionally, the result from the principal component analysis was interpreted on its own on a per-province basis. The output-oriented CCR and BCC models of data envelopment analysis were employed and the results were ranked using super efficiency. The efficiency scores of the provinces were determined and interpreted within that framework. The results from PCA and DEA activities were compared and the relationships between the two result sets were tested using Spearman Rank Correlation. The SPSS statistics software was used for principal component analysis, and the EMS (Efficiency Measurement System) software was used for data envelopment analysis.’