Economic efficiency

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In Economics efficiency is a general term encompassing the idea that a system proceeds with the minimum amount of waste. Efficiency is improved if the amount of "waste" or "friction" is reduced.

A system can be called economically efficient if

No one can be made better off without making someone else worse off.
The most output is obtained from a given amount of inputs.
Production proceeds at the lowest possible per unit cost.

These definitions of efficiency are not exactly equivalent. However, they all encompass the idea that nothing more can be achieved given the resources available.

The term microeconomic reform often refers to policies whose stated goal is to increase economic efficiency.

There are several alternate measures of economic efficiency, these include:

For applications of these principles see:

[edit] Documentary films

OPTIMUM – The Crusade For Efficiency, A Film by Henry Colomer, 2000, 55 minutes, This documentary focuses on three crusaders for efficiency, namely Jeremy Bentham, Charles Babbage and Francis Galton.