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On the allocation of resources for secondary schools

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  • Haelermans, Carla
  • De Witte, Kristof
  • Blank, Jos L.T.

Abstract

This paper studies the optimal allocation of resources – in terms of school management, teachers, supporting employees and materials – in secondary schools. We use a flexible budget constrained output distance function model to estimate both technical and allocative efficiency scores for 448 Dutch secondary schools between 2002 and 2007. The results indicate that the average technical efficiency amounts to about 78 percent, implying that, with the given resources, schools could improve students’ educational performance by 28 percent. In terms of allocative efficiency, we estimate a 0.65 percent overutilization of teachers while management and supporting personnel are underutilized. The outcomes indicate that, despite the significant variation among schools, the average school is close to the optimal allocation of teachers.

Suggested Citation

  • Haelermans, Carla & De Witte, Kristof & Blank, Jos L.T., 2012. "On the allocation of resources for secondary schools," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 575-586.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:31:y:2012:i:5:p:575-586
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2012.02.007
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    Cited by:

    1. Shawna Grosskopf & Kathy Hayes & Lori Taylor & William L Weber, 2017. "Would weighted-student funding enhance intra-district equity in Texas? A simulation using DEA," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 68(4), pages 377-389, April.
    2. Kristof De Witte & Laura López-Torres, 2017. "Efficiency in education: a review of literature and a way forward," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 68(4), pages 339-363, April.
    3. Shawna Grosskopf & Kathy Hayes & Lori Taylor & William Weber, 2015. "Centralized or decentralized control of school resources? A network model," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 43(2), pages 139-150, April.
    4. Tavares, Priscilla Albuquerque, 2015. "The impact of school management practices on educational performance: Evidence from public schools in São Paulo," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 1-15.
    5. Johnes, Jill, 2015. "Operational Research in education," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 243(3), pages 683-696.
    6. Jos L. T. Blanc & Alex A. S. van Heezik & Bas Blank, 2023. "Productivity and efficiency of central government departments: a mixed-effect model applied to Dutch data in the period 2012-2019," Public Sector Economics, Institute of Public Finance, vol. 47(3), pages 335-351.
    7. López-Torres, Laura & Prior, Diego, 2022. "Long-term efficiency of public service provision in a context of budget restrictions. An application to the education sector," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    8. López-Torres, Laura & Nicolini, Rosella & Prior, Diego, 2017. "Does strategic interaction affect demand for school places? A conditional efficiency approach," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 89-103.
    9. Son Nghiem & Ha Trong Nguyen & Luke B. Connelly, 2016. "The Efficiency of Australian Schools: A Nationwide Analysis Using Gains in Test Scores of Students as Outputs," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 35(3), pages 256-268, September.
    10. Aparicio, Juan & López-Torres, Laura & Santín, Daniel, 2018. "Economic crisis and public education. A productivity analysis using a Hicks-Moorsteen index," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 34-44.
    11. Nghiem, Son & Nguyen, Ha & Connelly, Luke, 2014. "The Efficiency of Australian Schools: Evidence from the NAPLAN Data 2009-2011," MPRA Paper 56231, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Brennan, Shae & Haelermans, Carla & Ruggiero, John, 2014. "Nonparametric estimation of education productivity incorporating nondiscretionary inputs with an application to Dutch schools," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 234(3), pages 809-818.
    13. Henriques, C.O. & Marcenaro-Gutierrez, O.D., 2021. "Efficiency of secondary schools in Portugal: A novel DEA hybrid approach," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    14. López-Torres, Laura & Johnes, Jill & Elliott, Caroline & Polo, Cristina, 2021. "The effects of competition and collaboration on efficiency in the UK independent school sector," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 40-53.
    15. Haelermans, Carla & Ruggiero, John, 2013. "Estimating technical and allocative efficiency in the public sector: A nonparametric analysis of Dutch schools," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 227(1), pages 174-181.
    16. Carla Haelermans & John Ruggiero, 2017. "Non-parametric estimation of the cost of adequacy in education: the case of Dutch schools," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 68(4), pages 390-398, April.
    17. Yahia, F.B. & Essid, H., 2019. "Determinants of Tunisian Schools’ Efficiency: A DEA-Tobit Approach," Journal of Applied Management and Investments, Department of Business Administration and Corporate Security, International Humanitarian University, vol. 8(1), pages 44-56, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Secondary education; Productivity; Allocative efficiency; Output distance function;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • C33 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives

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