Efficiency in the educational provision of Rio Grande do Sul: A three-stage municipal analysis

Abstract

This article seeks to measure efficiency in municipal education management for the municipalities of Rio Grande do Sul using data from FINBRA (Finances of Brazil), the School Census, the Human Development Atlas and the Brazil Exam. The strategy used was an efficiency model broken down into three stages in order to control, by discretionary characteristics (at school level) and that are under the control of the manager, non-discretionary (student's and family's characteristics) and variables of municipal management (Municipal Human Development Index, existence of a school board and/or an education fund and population density). The results show the presence of a small number of municipalities regarded as efficient or inefficient, however, most of them show average levels of efficiency. The three-stage model is necessary because some variables considered as non-discretionary had an impact on management efficiency, as well as aspects linked to demographic density and the existence of a governing board of education policy, which positively affected municipal efficiency indexes.