Maria Teresa M. Garcia, Ph.D. and Carlos P. Barros, Ph.D. Economics, Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão - Technical University of Lisbon, Rua Miguel Lupi, 20, Lisboa, 1249-078, Portugal
This paper estimates changes in total productivity, breaking this down into technically efficient change and technological change by means of data envelopment analysis (DEA – Malmquist Index) applied to a balanced sample of pension funds management companies operating in the Portuguese market. The aim of this procedure is to seek out those best practices that will lead to improved performance in the market. We rank the pension funds management companies according to their change in total productivity for the period 1994-2003, concluding that some management companies experienced productivity growth while others experienced a decrease in productivity. The implications arising from the study are considered in terms of managerial policy.