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The productivity of Argentine public universities from 2013 to 2022: analysing the Malmquist Index through global and local technical changes

Author

Listed:
  • Juan Antonio Dip

    (Universidad Nacional de Misiones)

  • David Dominguez Casoratti

    (Universidad Nacional de Misiones)

  • Facundo Costa de Arguibel

    (Universidad Nacional de Misiones
    CONICET)

Abstract

This paper evaluates the productivity of Argentine public universities from 2013 to 2022 using the Malmquist Index (MI), emphasising graduate production as the primary output. We also evaluate the universities’ productivity during the pandemic. We utilise a novel decomposition of the MI by Aparicio and Santín (Econom Model, 134(1):1–9, 2024), facilitating the analysis of technological changes across all frontiers. This decomposition detects local productivity changes (LTC) caused by the effects on each decision-making unit and global changes (GTC) produced by the industry. Over these ten years, the 47 universities experienced, on average, a slight drop in productivity of 0.33%, in contrast to a technological improvement of 0.3%. We analyse this improvement, breaking down the technological component (TC) of MI into global technological change (GTC) and local technological change (LTC). Furthermore, the conventional technical change component of the Malmquist Index is determined to be 2%, a figure that significantly exceeds the estimates provided by the GTC (0.3%). The omission of this disaggregation may result in misinterpretations concerning the productivity of the university. Additionally, a significant productivity drop of 24% occurred during the pandemic. The findings reveal notable heterogeneity among universities, underscoring the need for tailored educational policies to increase technical efficiency and foster technological expansions.

Suggested Citation

  • Juan Antonio Dip & David Dominguez Casoratti & Facundo Costa de Arguibel, 2025. "The productivity of Argentine public universities from 2013 to 2022: analysing the Malmquist Index through global and local technical changes," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 130(7), pages 3987-4009, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:130:y:2025:i:7:d:10.1007_s11192-025-05333-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-025-05333-y
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

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