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Evaluating the efficiency of public services

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  • Geraint Johnes

    (Lancaster University, UK)

Abstract

Efficiency is an important consideration for those who manage public services. Costs vary with output and with a variety of other factors. In the case of higher education, for example, factors include quality, student demographics, the scale and scope of the higher education provider, and the size and character of the real estate. But even when taking all these factors into account, costs vary across providers because of differences in efficiency. Such differences offer clues about good practice that can lead to improvements in the system as a whole. The role of efficiency is illustrated by reference to higher education institutions in England.

Suggested Citation

  • Geraint Johnes, 2015. "Evaluating the efficiency of public services," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 196-196, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izawol:journl:y:2015:n:196
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Baumol, William J, 1982. "Contestable Markets: An Uprising in the Theory of Industry Structure," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 72(1), pages 1-15, March.
    2. Jondrow, James & Knox Lovell, C. A. & Materov, Ivan S. & Schmidt, Peter, 1982. "On the estimation of technical inefficiency in the stochastic frontier production function model," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 19(2-3), pages 233-238, August.
    3. Johnes, Geraint & Johnes, Jill, 2009. "Higher education institutions' costs and efficiency: Taking the decomposition a further step," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 107-113, February.
    4. Geraint Johnes & Jill Johnes (ed.), 2004. "International Handbook on the Economics of Education," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 2847.
    5. E Thanassoulis & M Kortelainen & G Johnes & J Johnes, 2011. "Costs and efficiency of higher education institutions in England: a DEA analysis," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 62(7), pages 1282-1297, July.
    6. Aigner, Dennis & Lovell, C. A. Knox & Schmidt, Peter, 1977. "Formulation and estimation of stochastic frontier production function models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 21-37, July.
    7. Greene, William, 2005. "Reconsidering heterogeneity in panel data estimators of the stochastic frontier model," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 126(2), pages 269-303, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Cited by:

    1. Krzysztof Jarosinski, 2021. "Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (CEA) of Public Investment Projects," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(3B), pages 769-786.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    efficiency; costs; higher education;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C40 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - General
    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • H42 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Publicly Provided Private Goods
    • H44 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Publicly Provided Goods: Mixed Markets
    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions

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