On the Efficiency of Public Higher Education Institutions in Portugal: An Exploratory Study

Mariana Cunha and Vera Rocha

FEP Working Papers from Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Economia do Porto

Abstract: In a context of financial stringency like that characterizing the current economic land-scape in Portugal and in several other countries, accountability and efficiency questions gain an additional relevance in the higher education sector. In this paper we apply DEA techniques to evaluate the comparative efficiency of public higher education institutions in Portugal. The analysis is performed for three separate groups: public universities, public polytechnics and the several faculties of University of Porto. By using several inputs and outputs at the institutional-level, we are able to identify the most technically efficient institutions that may work as benchmark in the sector. The results suggest that a great portion of institutions may be working inefficiently, contributing to a significant waste of resources. This exploratory study is a first step towards a deeper understanding of the efficiency deter-minants of higher education institutions.

Keywords: DEA; Higher Education; Technical Efficiency; Universities; Polytechnics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C14 H52 I23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 27 pages
Date: 2012-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu and nep-eff
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:por:fepwps:468

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