Comparing the Efficiency of Italian Public and Private Universities (2007–2011): An Empirical Analysis

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyse the technical efficiency of Italian public and private universities. We therefore conduct a Data Envelopment Analysis on Italian universities in the years 2007–2011, using a novel integrated dataset from the Statistical Office of the Ministry of Education and from the National Agency for Evaluation. The inputs of the model are the total number of students and faculty staff, while the outputs are the total number of graduates and the revenues from scientific research. The results show differences related to the type of universities (private universities are relatively more efficient than public ones) and geographical area (Northern universities are relatively more efficient than those of the Centre and South). The Malmquist index, used for a comparison of different years, shows that the overall efficiency of Italian universities has increased in the period examined, particularly thanks to pure efficiency.