Understanding Productivity Changes in Public Universities: Evidence from Spain

This study examines the productivity growth of Spanish universities over the period 1994-2008. The Malmquist index is used to illustrate the contribution of efficiency and technological change to changes in the universities’ productivity. The results indicate that annual productivity growth is attributable largely to efficiency improvements rather than technological progress. Gains in scale efficiency appear to have played only a minor role in productivity gains. The results contribute to the knowledge of the university system in Spain, describing different university behaviours that could be useful for management at the institutional and national level.