Title: Assessment of criteria – rich rankings for environmental policy making

Authors: Sencer Yeralan, Mehmet Rasit Ozdoglar, Meral Azizoglu

Addresses: College of Technology and Innovation, University of South Florida Polytechnic, Lakeland, Florida, USA. ' Pegasus Airlines, Istanbul, Turkey. ' Department of Industrial Engineering, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

Abstract: This paper illustrates the use of mathematical programming techniques to extract more information out of composite indexes (e.g., the EPI-2008) that would assist decision makers. While recognising the qualitative aspects of such decision making, in order to support and guide the policy making process, we develop analytical tools to assist the process. We carefully delineate our models to be limited only to the provable quantitative properties of the available objective data. However, such data are processed into more meaningful statements concerning the available options. Specifically, using EPI-2008, meaningful mathematical models that shed further light onto the country sustainability measures are developed. The models may be used to determine which criteria must be emphasised if the composite score or the rank of a given country is to be improved.

Keywords: decision making; ranking; mathematical modelling; composite indexes; country sustainability measures; environmental policy making; EPI-2008; sustainable development.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMCDM.2011.041190

International Journal of Multicriteria Decision Making, 2011 Vol.1 No.3, pp.280 - 297

Published online: 29 Nov 2014 *

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