Economic efficiency of public secondary education expenditure: how different are developed and developing countries?

Este estudio mide la eficiencia del gasto público en educación secundaria en 35 países desarrollados y en desarrollo mediante el uso de una metodología semiparamétrica DEA (análisis envolvente de datos) en dos pasos. En primer lugar, implementamos dos modelos de frontera transfronteriza para el período 2009-2012: uno que utiliza un aporte físico (es decir, relación maestro-alumno) y otro que utiliza un aporte monetario (es decir, gasto gubernamental por estudiante secundario). Estos resultados se corrigen por los efectos del PIB per cápita y el logro educativo de los adultos como insumos no discrecionales. Obtenemos cuatro resultados importantes: (i) los países desarrollados y en desarrollo tienen los mismos procesos de producción educativa cuando se comparan utilizando insumos físicos, pero no cuando se los compara con insumos monetarios; (ii) los países en desarrollo podrían aumentar sus tasas de matrícula y puntajes PISA en aproximadamente un 9% y un 5%, respectivamente, al mantener las mismas proporciones maestro-alumno y los niveles de gasto público que los países desarrollados; (iii) Irlanda, Japón y Corea son países eficientes en los dos modelos de frontera (Colombia también se incluye en esta categoría cuando se utiliza la relación maestro-alumno como insumo); y (iv) la sólida evidencia empírica indica que tanto el ingreso como el logro educativo de los padres afectan positivamente la eficiencia de la educación pública en ambos modelos.This study measures the efficiency of public secondary education expenditure in 35 developing and developed countries using a two-step semi-parametric DEA (data envelopment analysis) methodology. First, we implement two cross-country frontier models for the 2009-2012 period: one using a physical input (i.e., teacher-pupil ratio) and one using a monetary input (i.e., government expenditure per secondary student). These results are corrected by the effects of GDP per capita and adult educational attainment as non-discretionary inputs. We obtain four important results: (i) developed and developing countries have the same education production processes when they are compared using physical inputs but not when compared using monetary inputs; (ii) developing countries could increase their enrollment rates and PISA scores by approximately 9% and 5%, respectively, by maintaining the same teacher-pupil ratios and public spending levels as developed countries; (iii) Ireland, Japan and Korea are efficient countries in the two frontier models (Colombia is also included in this category when the teacher-pupil ratio is used as input); and (iv) robust empirical evidence indicates that both income and parental educational attainment positively affect the efficiency of public education in both models

Academic student satisfaction and perceived performance in the e-learning environment during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence across ten countries

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically shaped higher education and seen the distinct rise of e-learning as a compulsory element of the modern educational landscape. Accordingly, this study highlights the factors which have influenced how students perceive their academic performance during this emergency changeover to e-learning. The empirical analysis is performed on a sample of 10,092 higher education students from 10 countries across 4 continents during the pandemic’s first wave through an online survey. A structural equation model revealed the quality of e-learning was mainly derived from service quality, the teacher’s active role in the process of online education, and the overall system quality, while the students’ digital competencies and online interactions with their colleagues and teachers were considered to be slightly less important factors. The impact of e-learning quality on the students’ performance was strongly mediated by their satisfaction with e-learning. In general, the model gave quite consistent results across countries, gender, study fields, and levels of study. The findings provide a basis for policy recommendations to support decision-makers incorporate e-learning issues in the current and any new similar circumstances.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Efficiency Evaluation of Agricultural Informatization Based on CCR and Super-Efficiency DEA Model

International audienceIn this research, we want to evaluate the efficiency of input / output in agricultural informatization (AI) and the redundancy of AI by using DEA method. An index system evaluating the input and output in agricultural informatization was built with the support of CCR Model and Super-efficiency DEA Model, which contains 9 indices. We processed the data of agricultural informatization in Huaihua and Xiangxi, two areas in Hunan province, with DEMP and EMS software and analyzed the efficiency of agricultural informatization in different 5 years and figure out the tendency of developing status in AI from 2009 to 2013. The results show that the CRSTE, VRSTE, SCALE efficiency of AI in two areas is efficient and the inputs and outputs about AI in 2009 and 2011 have spaces of improving. In general, the developing tendency of AI efficiency in two areas is stable in these years even though they are not developed areas in agricultural informatization. The index system of AI evaluation in this research could be better and reliable in future if we get more data and add more indices in it, but it is hard for us now to get more data because of the limitation of incomplete statistical data released by local governments