Universities efficiency and their implications for public financing of the university system in Chile

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to estimate the efficiency of universities and to contribute to the discussion on the orientations of public policies for financing the Chilean university system. The data envelopment analysis (DEA) method is used to determine the relative efficiency of 41 universities. The results are analysed at the general level of the sample and according to the size of the institutions. The findings show that size is not a conditioning factor for achieving the optimum. However, the results indicate that the group of smaller universities tends to be less efficient.