Abstract
This paper assesses education sector’s efficiency by comparing 28 European Union states at different levels of education using the mathematic approach of data envelopment analysis. We conducted the study from both the allocative and technical perspectives by considering all education levels separately and then as a whole, every three years, starting with 2006. The input and output variables were adapted to each particular level of education. In this way, we offered a complete image of the education system, creating a ranking for the countries, based on efficiency scores. Efficiency appears to be achieved when education results, such as the Programme for International Student Assessment scores, attainment level or other value-added outcomes, are reached with rather low levels of financial resources. The performance in education lacks sustainability in many countries, mostly belonging to Mediterranean and south-eastern European groups, with old member states recording efficiency scores closer to 1 compared to the new ones. Inefficiency derived from different causes and interactions between these causes (the mixture between public and private resources, the different population composition, gross domestic product per capita or levels of education attainment) and most often imply particular solutions from country to country.
Highlights
The data envelopment analysis (DEA) and Tobbit methods were applied for an analysis conducted for 25 states in 2003, mostly OECD states, to measure expenditure efficiency for secondary education by comparing the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results with allocated resources
Considering the average efficiency scores obtained in the analysis, the observed countries could have generated the same level of educational outputs using fewer resources
21.44% and still reach the same outcomes level, while technical efficiency scores could increase by 5.69% considering the amounts spent
Summary
The economic thought has always been interesting to study the role and impact of human capital investments, especially via education and formal instruction, for economic growth and nations’ development. A global efficiency perspective of the education sector is approached to observe whether the monetary resources allocated for education produced the desired results In addition to these methodological elements, described in more detail in the presentation of the Materials and Methods Section, the novelty of our research lies in conducting the study from both the input and output perspectives, considering all education levels separately and as a whole by adapting the input and output variables to each particular level. Europe is created and all the 28 countries are compared in terms of technical efficiency, as well as from a resource allocation perspective It is a complex and desired approach since it offers a wider image of the education sector for researchers and other readers interested in such comparisons and analysis. The fifth part concludes and gives some possible suggestions for further analysis
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