IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ipf/psejou/v42y2018i4p381-414.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Efficiency vs effectiveness: an analysis of tertiary education across Europe

Author

Listed:
  • Ozana Nadoveza Jelic

    (University of Zagreb, Faculty of Economics and Business, Zagreb, Croatia)

  • Margareta Gardijan Kedzo

    (University of Zagreb, Faculty of Economics and Business, Zagreb, Croatia)

Abstract

This paper deals with tertiary education efficiency and effectiveness across 24 European Union countries in four sub-periods between 2004 and 2015. The efficiency scores are computed using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). We try to raise awareness of the quality, and not of the quantity, of educational outputs and inputs by introducing quality-based correction of the DEA efficiency score, which we regard as effectiveness. Our results show that quality considerations affect the relative positions of countries regarding their efficiency scores. In other words, some less developed countries, which are efficient in the quantity-based model, fail to reach the defined efficiency border when considering some quality indicators of outputs. On the other hand, some inefficient developed countries increase their DEA-based ranking and achieve effectiveness (quality-based efficiency). The same is true for input quality considerations. Since tertiary education cannot be expected to provide the same quality of outcomes with different input qualities, efficiency improves (deteriorates) in the input-output quality-based model in many countries with low (high) quality student bases.

Suggested Citation

  • Ozana Nadoveza Jelic & Margareta Gardijan Kedzo, 2018. "Efficiency vs effectiveness: an analysis of tertiary education across Europe," Public Sector Economics, Institute of Public Finance, vol. 42(4), pages 381-414.
    • Handle: RePEc:ipf:psejou:v:42:y:2018:i:4:p:381-414
    DOI: 10.3326/pse.42.4.2
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.pse-journal.hr/upload/files/pse/2018/4/2.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.3326/pse.42.4.2?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. William W. Cooper & Lawrence M. Seiford & Joe Zhu (ed.), 2011. "Handbook on Data Envelopment Analysis," International Series in Operations Research and Management Science, Springer, number 978-1-4419-6151-8, December.
    2. Emrouznejad, Ali & Yang, Guo-liang, 2018. "A survey and analysis of the first 40 years of scholarly literature in DEA: 1978–2016," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 4-8.
    3. Robert J. Barro, 2013. "Education and Economic Growth," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 14(2), pages 301-328, November.
    4. Afonso, Antonio & St. Aubyn, Miguel, 2006. "Cross-country efficiency of secondary education provision: A semi-parametric analysis with non-discretionary inputs," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 476-491, May.
    5. Toth, Reka, 2009. "Using Dea To Evaluate Efficiency Of Higher Education," APSTRACT: Applied Studies in Agribusiness and Commerce, AGRIMBA, vol. 4(3-4), pages 1-4.
    6. Nadir Altinok & Claude Diebolt & Jean-Luc Demeulemeester, 2014. "A new international database on education quality: 1965--2010," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(11), pages 1212-1247, April.
    7. Piergiuseppe Fortunato & Ugo Panizza, 2015. "Democracy, education and the quality of government," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 333-363, December.
    8. Charnes, A. & Cooper, W. W. & Rhodes, E., 1978. "Measuring the efficiency of decision making units," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 2(6), pages 429-444, November.
    9. Aleksander Aristovnik, 2013. "Relative Efficiency of Education Expenditures in Eastern Europe: A Non-parametric Approach," Journal of Knowledge Management, Economics and Information Technology, ScientificPapers.org, vol. 3(3), pages 1-4, June.
    10. Aleksander Aristovnik & Alka Obadic, 2011. "The Funding And Efficiency Of Higher Education In Croatia And Slovenia: A Non-Parametric Comparison With Eu And Oecd Countries," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series wp1007, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
    11. Aristovnik, Aleksander & Obadić, Alka, 2011. "The funding and efficiency of higher education in Croatia and Slovenia: a non-parametric comparison," MPRA Paper 31466, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. T Kuosmanen, 2009. "Data envelopment analysis with missing data," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 60(12), pages 1767-1774, December.
    13. Aristovnik, Aleksander & Obadić, Alka, 2014. "Measuring relative efficiency of secondary education in selected EU and OECD countries: the case of Slovenia and Croatia," MPRA Paper 63936, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Ahec Šonje, Amina & Deskar-Škrbić, Milan & Šonje, Velimir, 2018. "Efficiency of public expenditure on education: comparing Croatia with other NMS," MPRA Paper 85152, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 10 Feb 2018.
    15. R. D. Banker & A. Charnes & W. W. Cooper, 1984. "Some Models for Estimating Technical and Scale Inefficiencies in Data Envelopment Analysis," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(9), pages 1078-1092, September.
    16. Robert J. Barro, 2001. "Human Capital and Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(2), pages 12-17, May.
    17. Rajiv D. Banker & Richard C. Morey, 1986. "Efficiency Analysis for Exogenously Fixed Inputs and Outputs," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 34(4), pages 513-521, August.
    18. François Bourguignon & Yehuda Elkana & Boris Pleskovic, 2007. "Capacity Building in Economics Education and Research," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 6681, December.
    19. William W. Cooper & Lawrence M. Seiford & Kaoru Tone, 2006. "Introduction to Data Envelopment Analysis and Its Uses," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-0-387-29122-2, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Marius Sorin Dincă & Gheorghiţa Dincă & Maria Letiţia Andronic & Anna Maria Pasztori, 2021. "Assessment of the European Union’s Educational Efficiency," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-29, March.
    2. Francesco Chelli & Mariateresa Ciommi & Francesca Mariani & Gloria Polinesi & Maria Cristina Recchioni & Giuseppe Ricciardo Lamonica & Luca Salvati, 2022. "A Story of Strengths and Weaknesses in Tertiary Education: Evaluating ‘Mobility’ and ‘Opportunities’ in OECD Countries with Composite Indicators," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-19, December.
    3. Kristina Stefanova & Nikolay Velichkov, 2020. "Analysis of the Efficiency of Tertiary Education Expenditure in European Union Member States from Central and Eastern Europe: An Efficiency Frontier Approach," South-Eastern Europe Journal of Economics, Association of Economic Universities of South and Eastern Europe and the Black Sea Region, vol. 18(1), pages 115-128.
    4. Marilena-Aura DIN & Cristina COCULESCU, 2019. "On Efficiency Of Higher Education With Data Envelopment Analysis And Regression," Proceedings of the INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 13(1), pages 399-408, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ahec Šonje, Amina & Deskar-Škrbić, Milan & Šonje, Velimir, 2018. "Efficiency of public expenditure on education: comparing Croatia with other NMS," MPRA Paper 85152, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 10 Feb 2018.
    2. Yang, Guo-liang & Fukuyama, Hirofumi & Chen, Kun, 2019. "Investigating the regional sustainable performance of the Chinese real estate industry: A slack-based DEA approach," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 141-159.
    3. Tumaniants, Karen A. (Туманянц, Карэн) & Sesina, Julia E. (Сесина, Юлия), 2017. "Social Expenditures of Russian Regions in Terms of “Input-Output” [Расходы На Социальную Политику Российских Регионов В Координатах «Затраты — Результат»]," Ekonomicheskaya Politika / Economic Policy, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, vol. 5, pages 128-149, October.
    4. Filip Fidanoski & Kiril Simeonovski & Violeta Cvetkoska, 2021. "Energy Efficiency in OECD Countries: A DEA Approach," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-21, February.
    5. Ibrahim Alnafrah, 2021. "Efficiency evaluation of BRICS’s national innovation systems based on bias-corrected network data envelopment analysis," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 1-28, December.
    6. Abbas Mardani & Dalia Streimikiene & Tomas Balezentis & Muhamad Zameri Mat Saman & Khalil Md Nor & Seyed Meysam Khoshnava, 2018. "Data Envelopment Analysis in Energy and Environmental Economics: An Overview of the State-of-the-Art and Recent Development Trends," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-21, August.
    7. Aziz KUTLAR & Ali KABASAKAL & Adem BABACAN, 2015. "Dynamic Efficiency of Turkish Banks: a DEA Window and Malmquist Index Analysis for the Period of 2003-2012," Sosyoekonomi Journal, Sosyoekonomi Society, issue 23(24).
    8. Cosmin Eugen ENACHE, 2012. "The efficiency of expenditure-related redistributive policies in the European countries," Timisoara Journal of Economics, West University of Timisoara, Romania, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, vol. 5(18), pages 380-394.
    9. Fadzlan Sufian & Muzafar Shah Habibullah, 2012. "Developments in the efficiency of the Malaysian banking sector: the impacts of financial disruptions and exchange rate regimes," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 12(1), pages 19-46, January.
    10. Zhou, P. & Ang, B.W. & Poh, K.L., 2008. "A survey of data envelopment analysis in energy and environmental studies," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 189(1), pages 1-18, August.
    11. Sarmento, Joaquim Miranda & Renneboog, Luc & Verga-Matos, Pedro, 2017. "Measuring highway efficiency : A DEA approach and the Malquist index," Other publications TiSEM 23264815-321e-45a3-83ee-9, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    12. Nikolaos Oikonomou & Yannis Tountas & Argiris Mariolis & Kyriakos Souliotis & Kostas Athanasakis & John Kyriopoulos, 2016. "Measuring the efficiency of the Greek rural primary health care using a restricted DEA model; the case of southern and western Greece," Health Care Management Science, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 313-325, December.
    13. José Solana‐Ibáñez & Manuel Caravaca‐Garratón & Ricardo Teruel‐Sánchez, 2020. "Stakeholder perception on corporate reputation and management efficiency: Evidence from the Spanish Defence sector," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5), pages 2381-2399, September.
    14. Mosbah, Ezzeddine & Zaibet, Lokman & Dharmapala, P. Sunil, 2020. "A new methodology to measure efficiencies of inputs (outputs) of decision making units in Data Envelopment Analysis with application to agriculture," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    15. Tommaso Agasisti & Giuseppe Munda & Ralph Hippe, 2019. "Measuring the efficiency of European education systems by combining Data Envelopment Analysis and Multiple-Criteria Evaluation," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 51(2), pages 105-124, June.
    16. Jesús A. Tapia & Bonifacio Salvador, 2022. "Data envelopment analysis efficiency in the public sector using provider and customer opinion: An application to the Spanish health system," Health Care Management Science, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 333-346, June.
    17. Toloo, Mehdi & Mensah, Emmanuel Kwasi & Salahi, Maziar, 2022. "Robust optimization and its duality in data envelopment analysis," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    18. Paolo Liberati & Raffaele Lagravinese & Giuliano Resce, 2017. "How Does Economic Social And Cultural Status Affect The Efficiency Of Educational Attainments? A Comparative Analysis On Pisa Results," Departmental Working Papers of Economics - University 'Roma Tre' 0217, Department of Economics - University Roma Tre.
    19. Cook, Wade D. & Seiford, Larry M., 2009. "Data envelopment analysis (DEA) - Thirty years on," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 192(1), pages 1-17, January.
    20. Henriques, C.O. & Marcenaro-Gutierrez, O.D., 2021. "Efficiency of secondary schools in Portugal: A novel DEA hybrid approach," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    tertiary education; data envelopment analysis; educational efficiency and effectiveness; EU;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I22 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Educational Finance; Financial Aid
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ipf:psejou:v:42:y:2018:i:4:p:381-414. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Martina Fabris (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ijfffhr.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.