  The computational complexity of reasoning within the Dempster-Shafer theory
of evidence is one of the main points of criticism this formalism has to face.
To overcome this difficulty various approximation algorithms have been
suggested that aim at reducing the number of focal elements in the belief
functions involved. Besides introducing a new algorithm using this method, this
paper describes an empirical study that examines the appropriateness of these
approximation procedures in decision making situations. It presents the
empirical findings and discusses the various tradeoffs that have to be taken
into account when actually applying one of these methods.
