Research Production and International Visibility in Higher Education: The Evolution of Romanian Universities from 2011 to 2019

Claudiu Vasile Kifor, Daniel Teodorescu, Tudorel Andrei and Roxana Săvescu
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Claudiu Vasile Kifor: Research Center for Sustainable Products and Processes, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, 550143 Sibiu, Romania
Daniel Teodorescu: Department of Educational Leadership, School of Education, Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta, GA 30314, USA
Tudorel Andrei: Department of Statistics and Econometrics, Bucharest University of Economics Studies, 010374 Bucharest, Romania
Roxana Săvescu: Research Center for Sustainable Products and Processes, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, 550143 Sibiu, Romania

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 23, 1-18

Abstract: The international visibility of Romanian universities is relatively weak, even when compared with neighboring countries. This is explained by the historical heritage of the former communist regime and the lack of a clear vision for a post-communist strategic policy that could guide the research enterprise. This study examined whether the higher education reforms launched in 2011 had an effect on the research output, impact and international visibility of Romanian universities. The researchers used bibliometric data and university ranking data from ARWU, THE and QS Rankings. Trends in aggregate bibliometric indicators were analyzed for 38 universities as a whole, and by type of institution. Additionally, the Theil index was utilized to measure the degree of concentration of the research output across three institutional types. The findings reveal that there was significant growth in research output during the first years following the 2011 Education Law. However, this growth could not be sustained beyond 2014, except for Teaching & Research Universities and medical universities. This suggests that the reforms are producing the expected results at institutions that implemented and enforced new evaluation systems heavily oriented toward research.

Keywords: education policies; higher education institutions; international visibility; research performance; university ranking (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:23:p:13362-:d:693774

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