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Measuring Efficiency in Educational Production

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  • Henry M. Levin

    (Stanford University)

Abstract

An attempt is made to explore the production set for educational achievement for both “efficient†and “inefficient†schools. The inefficient or average production relationship is obtained by estimating a reduced-form equation for all schools among a sample drawn from a large Eastern city. The efficient set is derived by using a linear programming approach to yield coefficients for those schools that show the largest student achievement output relative to their resource inputs. A comparison of the two sets of technical coefficients suggests that the relative marginal products are probably different. Because of such differences, the optimal combination of inputs for producing educational achievement relative to a given budget constraint will probably vary between achievement-efficient and inefficient schools, and may even vary from school to school. The result is that the use of such production-function estimates for attempting to improve the efficiency of the educational sector may have far less utility than its advocates imply.

Suggested Citation

  • Henry M. Levin, 1974. "Measuring Efficiency in Educational Production," Public Finance Review, , vol. 2(1), pages 3-24, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:pubfin:v:2:y:1974:i:1:p:3-24
    DOI: 10.1177/109114217400200101
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gintis, Herbert, 1971. "Education, Technology, and the Characteristics of Worker Productivity," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 61(2), pages 266-279, May.
    2. Bowles, Samuel, 1973. "Understanding Unequal Economic Opportunity," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 63(2), pages 346-356, May.
    3. Henry M. Levin, 1970. "A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Teacher Selection," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 5(1), pages 24-33.
    4. Samuel Bowles, 1970. "Towards an Educational Production Function," NBER Chapters, in: Education, Income, and Human Capital, pages 11-70, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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