Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/322192 
Authors: 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
Texto para Discussão No. 3126
Publisher: 
Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada (IPEA), Brasília
Abstract (Translated): 
The word "efficiency" has several technical meanings. Some of them are confused with productivity, with economies of scale and with optimization. There are also some lay meanings which are vague enough; they allude to effectiveness, to competence, to adequacy, to doing something well, and to quickness, among others. For these and for other reasons, part of the economic literature asserts that the importance of efficiency has been exaggerated. Appraisals of the efficiency of a productive activity may be disparate or incongruent when the activity has more than one aim. Moreover, seeking efficiency may fail to match with seeking security as well as with inventing and innovating.
Subjects: 
efficiency
effectiveness
productivity
economies of scale
optimization
JEL: 
D73
A13
B40
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by Logo
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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