Efficiency versus Effectiveness: Interpreting Education Production Studies

Christopher C. Klein

No 200703, Working Papers from Middle Tennessee State University, Department of Economics and Finance

Abstract: To gain analytical insight into whether input resources matter in public education, a Becker/Peltzman/Stigler model of the determination of local educational budgets and outputs by political authorities is constructed. The model results are consistent with empirical findings that resources don’t matter, even when all schools are efficient, if errors in measurement and specification occur. When all outputs are not observed, one cannot distinguish an inefficient school district from one that chooses an idiosyncratic output mix. Blind application of efficiency measurement techniques in this context yields perverse or counterintuitive findings. Interpretation of feasible approaches to education production studies are discussed.

Keywords: Education; Efficiency; Productivity. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu, nep-eff, nep-hrm and nep-ure
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:mts:wpaper:200703

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