Technical efficiency and its adjustment factors of the productive municipalities of the Denominación de Origen León (Spain) in 2008 and 2018

Abstract

The diagnosis of a territory must be the preliminary step for the establishment of possible adjustment measures. The use of quantitative methods makes it possible to measure problems and provides objective information for decision-making. This work is carried out within the territorial framework of the León Designation of Origin, which is a Spanish Geographical Indication that protects the winegrowing activity of an area in the northwest of Spain. The main focus of the study is to analyse the technical efficiency in 32 municipalities of the León DO for the years 2008 and 2018. The methodology used is a Factor Analysis, and a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) adapted for its application in two phases. The results obtained detect the factors and variables that need to be adjusted to improve the efficiency of the municipalities. Two are the elements that need more attention, the factor derived from the population variables and the budgetary expenditures of the municipalities. The possible strategies for action, in the population factor, are directed towards a reduction in the ratios of ageing and dependency that allow the population base of the area to be reactivated towards the achievement of higher activity rates. As far as budgetary expenditure is concerned, it seems necessary to adapt the expenditure of the municipalities towards those activities that really provoke processes of regeneration and economic activation. Territorial resilience is only possible when the initial conditions are appropriate.