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Comparing university performance by legal status: a Malmquist-type index approach for the case of the Spanish higher education system

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Abstract

New public management and increasing levels of competition driven by global rankings are bringing the managerial practices of public and private higher education institutions closer together. However, these two types of institutions still maintain different objectives and traditions and enjoy different degrees of autonomy that are reflected in their internal organisational structures. We study the relative efficiency and productivity performance of private and public universities in Spain through two adaptations of the Malmquist Index. Results show that, in 2009/2010, the greater flexibility of private universities meant a better adjustment between inputs and outputs in the private sector. However, in 2013/2014, public universities had caught up with private universities. Because of the economic crisis, the inputs of public universities have decreased, but this decrease had not fully impacted their results in 2013/2014.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics and Public Finance, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Eva M. de la Torre & Carmen Perez-Esparrells

  2. Departamento de Estructura e Historia Económica y Economía Pública, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain

    José-María Gómez-Sancho

Authors
  1. Eva M. de la Torre
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  2. José-María Gómez-Sancho
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  3. Carmen Perez-Esparrells
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Correspondence to Eva M. de la Torre.

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de la Torre, E.M., Gómez-Sancho, JM. & Perez-Esparrells, C. Comparing university performance by legal status: a Malmquist-type index approach for the case of the Spanish higher education system. Tert Educ Manag 23, 206–221 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1080/13583883.2017.1296966

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