Evaluating the efficiency of research in academic departments: an empirical analysis in an Italian Region

Tommaso Agasisti (1) , Antonio Dal Bianco (2) , Paolo Landoni (3) , Alessandro Sala (2) , Mario Salerno (3)

1 Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering
2 IRER - Istituto Regionale di Ricerca della Lombardia
3 Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering

This paper investigates the efficiency of university departments on science, technology and medicine in an Italian Region (Lombardy). The aim of the paper is twofold: (i) to analyze the changes in productivity in recent years (from 2004 and 2007), and (ii) to detect factors that are potentially affecting efficiency. We benefited from a new and unique dataset (called QuESTIO) developed by the Lombardy Regional Government. Using facilities and academic staff as inputs, and research grants and publications as outputs, we modelled the research activity of academic departments. The methodological approach for computing efficiency scores is DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis); Malmquist indexes have been used to measure changes in productivity, while Kruskal-Wallis tests were employed to study the potential determinants of efficiency. We obtained two main results. First, we found that in the period considered, the academic departments improved their efficiency but, at the same time, the efficiency frontier worsened. Second, we highlighted that external and measurable factors (like scientific sector, proportion of tenured staff, location, etc.) have a limited impact in explaining efficiency differentials. Both results are discussed in terms of policy implications.

Mots clés: Social Sciences & Humanities

Tommaso Agasisti, Antonio Dal Bianco, Paolo Landoni, Alessandro Sala, Mario Salerno. Evaluating the efficiency of research in academic departments: an empirical analysis in an Italian Region. Higher Education Quarterly, 2011, 65 (3), pp.267. ⟨10.1111/j.1468-2273.2011.00489.x⟩. ⟨hal-00657593⟩