Sustainable development goals and higher education

ǂan ǂefficiency analysis

Abstract

Higher education (HE) is a significant factor in a country’s economic prosperity and plays a vital role in addressing sustainability issues and actively promoting sustainable development. While many EU member countries have well-developed education systems in terms of rankings and SDGs’ attainment, little is known about the progress of other European countries. The goal of this research is to estimate the efficiency of higher education in the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 40 European countries. The method used to estimate efficiency is Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) with output-orientation and variable returns to scale approach. In the final model specification, two input variables and one output variable are used. Results indicate that the average technical efficiency of the 40 European countries is relatively high and equal to 0.94. Nine countries emerge as fully efficient in achieving SDG 4 with a coefficient equal to 1. The four largest higher education systems achieved an aboveaverage efficiency score of 0.97 or higher. Six countries are recognized as the worst performing. However, more analysis is necessary to examine the sources of inefficiency in the worst-performing countries. Due to specific data limitations indicated in this research, it remains a challenge to evaluate the precise impact of higher education and its contribution to SDGs.

Keywords

sustainable development goals (SDGs);higher education;data envelopment analysis;SDG4;European countries;

Data

Language:	English
Year of publishing:	2023
Typology:	1.01 - Original Scientific Article
Organization:	UM EPF - Faculty of Economics and Business
UDC:	378:502.131.1(4)
COBISS:	195277059
ISSN:	0547-3101
Views:	0
Downloads:	5
Average score:	0 (0 votes)
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Other data

Secondary language:	Slovenian
Secondary title:	Cilji trajnostnega razvoja in visoko šolstvo
Secondary abstract:	Visokošolsko izobraževanje (VŠ) je pomemben dejavnik ekonomske blaginje države in ima ključno vlogo pri reševanju vprašanj trajnosti in dejavnem spodbujanju trajnostnega razvoja. Medtem ko imajo številne države članice EU dobro razvite izobraževalne sisteme v smislu uvrstitev in doseganja ciljev trajnostnega razvoja, je o napredku drugih evropskih držav znanega malo. Cilj te raziskave je oceniti učinkovitost visokega šolstva pri doseganju ciljev trajnostnega razvoja v 40 evropskih državah. Metoda, uporabljena za oceno učinkovitosti, je analiza ovojnice podatkov (DEA) z izhodno usmerjenostjo in pristopom variabilnih donosov obsega. V končni specifikaciji modela sta uporabljeni dve vhodni spremenljivki in ena izhodna spremenljivka. Rezultati kažejo, da je povprečna tehnična učinkovitost 40 evropskih držav razmeroma visoka in znaša 0,94. Devet držav je popolnoma učinkovitih pri doseganju četrtega cilja trajnostnega razvoja s koeficientom, ki je enak 1. Štirje največji visokošolski sistemi so dosegli nadpovprečno stopnjo učinkovitosti, ki znaša 0,97 ali več. Šest držav je prepoznanih kot najmanj učinkovitih. Vendar je treba opraviti več analiz, da bi preučili vire neučinkovitosti v državah z najslabšimi rezultati. Zaradi specifičnih podatkovnih omejitev, navedenih v tej raziskavi, ostaja izziv oceniti natančen učinek visokega šolstva in njegov prispevek k ciljem trajnostnega razvoja.
Secondary keywords:	visoko šolstvo;trajnostni razvoj;učinkovitost;Evropa;
Type (COBISS):	Scientific work
Pages:	str. 12-23
Volume:	ǂVol. ǂ69
Issue:	ǂno. ǂ3
Chronology:	2023
DOI:	10.18690/10.2478/ngoe-2023-0014
ID:	26525646