Impact evaluation in a multi-input multi-output setting: Evidence on the effect of additional resources for schools

G. D'Inverno*, M. Smet, K. De Witte

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

8 Citations (Web of Science)
70 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

This paper proposes an innovative approach to evaluate the causal impact of a policy change in a multi-input multi-output setting. It combines insights from econometric impact evaluation techniques and efficiency analysis. In particular, the current paper accounts for endogeneity issues by introducing a quasi-experimental setting within a conditional multi-input multi-output efficiency framework and by decomposing the overall efficiency between ‘group-specific’ efficiency (i.e., reflecting internal managerial inefficiency) and ‘program’ efficiency (i.e., explaining the impact of the policy intervention on performance). This framework allows the researcher to interpret the efficiency scores in terms of causality. The practical usefulness of the methodology is demonstrated through an application to secondary schools in Flanders, Belgium. By exploiting an exogenous threshold, the paper examines whether additional resources for disadvantaged students impact the efficiency of schools.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1111-1124
Number of pages14
JournalEuropean Journal of Operational Research
Volume290
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 May 2021

JEL classifications

  • i25 - Education and Economic Development
  • d04 - "Microeconomic Policy: Formulation; Implementation; Evaluation"
  • i23 - Higher Education and Research Institutions

Keywords

  • Causal inference
  • Data envelopment analysis
  • Efficiency
  • Efficiency analysis
  • Equal educational opportunities
  • Impact evaluation
  • Innovative approaches
  • MIMO systems
  • Multi input multi output
  • Overall efficiency
  • Policy changes
  • Policy intervention
  • Secondary schools
  • MANIPULATION
  • PERFORMANCE
  • EDUCATION
  • DATA ENVELOPMENT ANALYSIS
  • NONPARAMETRIC FRONTIER MODELS
  • TECHNOLOGIES
  • ENDOGENEITY
  • PRODUCTIVITY
  • REGRESSION DISCONTINUITY DESIGN
  • EFFICIENCY

Cite this