Wednesday 10 June 2009

University productivity in China

There is no doubt that Chinese Universities are rapidly increasing in quality. However, there remains a productivity and quality gap with US and UK Universities. This interesting topic is discussed in a recently China Economic Review paper.

I am not keen on the techniques employed in this paper but the results that productivity is increasing but from a low base matches my expectations (always a good sign) :-)

Efficiency and productivity growth in Chinese universities during the post-reform period

Ying Chu NG and Sung-ko LIa

Abstract

The social science research performance of Chinese universities is examined using panel data. The universities are found to be very inefficient in general, with not much difference between regions. By far the largest single cause of universities′ overall technical efficiency is pure technical efficiency, along with a considerable amount of scale inefficiency and a modest amount of congestion. No obvious regional differences in the universities′ productivity growth are apparent between 1998 and 2002. Decomposition of the Malmquist productivity index indicates that although there has been technological progress over the years, poor scale efficiency and technical efficiency have resulted in deterioration in the universities′ average productivity. There are signs of increasing congestion during the period studied.

Keywords: Technical efficiency; Congestion; Malmquist productivity index; Research; Chinese universities

JEL classification codes: I20; L30

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Universities in China are inefficient, according to the Asia Chronicle (www.asiachroniclenews.com) because they promote solid test-taking but not solid thinking. There seems to be a bit of a creativity gap between Chinese universities and the rest of the world.

JOSE LUIS REVILLA ESCUDERO said...

viernes 19 de junio de 2009
TRUTH

Let´s tell the only truth:

1. China is the main owner of the US, since it is the main debtor in US T-bonds and external debt.

2. Hedge funds and leveraged financial operations have been existing for a long time. It is nothing new that just arrived 2-3 years ago. Nick Leeson bankrupted BARINGS BANK 14 years ago playing with derivatives in Singapore Stock Exchange.
Georghe Soros became rich managing hedge funds focused on leveraged currency operations more than 20 years ago.

3. CAPITALISM has not failed, it has been the antique regulation vs. NEW and more complexed financial products ( options, futures, warrants, leveraged buy-outs, mergers, etc... )

4. Barack Obama is president of the US because of the worst performance ever of an US president (George W. Bush ),... But even with that, if the financial crisis does not explode 2 months before the election, B.O. would not have won it either.

5. B.O. was a complete unknown, but very useful to revitalize the image of the US in the world: youth, muslim relatives, black, elegant, the blackberry, ... the US lobbies have achieved their goal, and they have said to the world:

Look how robust is our democracy that we have elected a black president !!!...
Look how our relationship with the muslim world is going to change in a positive manner !!!...
Look how we are going to restructure the whole world !!!

Political Marketing, media and more dirty games ...

6. The US has finally understood that a war against "3 muslims hidden in a cave" was not a good idea, even more while China became more and more powerful, while the US became weaker with stupid wars.

7. Do not blame Wall Street !!!... Wall Street are not aliens living in a different world. They are only the representation of what America is. Wall Street has auto manufacturers, utilities, proud companies such as GOOGLE, MICROSOFT, and obviously it also has banks.
"Subprime loans" existed for a long time in the US, even since its colonisation.
The handling of these subprime loans is a different aspect, and it is precisely here where REGULATION failed.

8. ENRON case was not 2 years ago. Have we learned something since then ?...

9. Where is the "free journalism" ??... Let´s hope people will stop reading lobby newspapers and concentrate on real free bloggers.

10. INDIA has the key of the world hegemony. If it leans to the US, US will continue leading the world. If it leans to China, the US power is over.

11. What country will first realize that AFRICA has a lot to offer to the world ??... China is doing it already.

12. Why do I know that Obama has a dog called "Bo", and I do not know if HU JINTAO (China president ) has even kids ???


Please, let´s tell the truth to the world.





Jose Luis Revilla Escudero
Chairman&CEO
WWShares, Inc
-Global Wealth Management-
www.worldwideshares.blogspot.com

tina said...

sure i so much agree with jose luis, before i visited china i also was ignorant and i was happy in my own world created by the western media and all the lies i thought was true, i will tell you all that Chinese are not dumb and mickey mouse nation that we think they are, there universities are almost on the equal footing with the western world, they are intelligent enough not to waste there resources on war like we are doing,so tell me who is intelligent here, civilized nations dont fight.... i found this amazing website http://www.citidirect.co.uk. http://www.citidirect.co.uk has every thing from a cleaning company to a dentist to a estate agent, you can even find car dealer or a locksmith. i would definitely recommend this site http://www.citidirect.co.uk to every one out there.

J.M said...

How do you measure the productivity of a university ? Quantitatively ?

Rocky said...

I share the same views. Liked your blog very much.

mikeleaf said...

great blog! amazing info
check out mine too!

JOSE LUIS REVILLA ESCUDERO said...

LEHMAN down, GM down, Citi, Chrysler ... Is AMERICA productivity really hurt ?

PONTIAC, BUICK, CHEVROLET... the "American dreamt" brands, the symbol of an era in America.
The wish of many teenagers that then became great personalities around the globe.

But, this was a forecasted end. TOYOTA has been for many years, the real revolution in the american auto industry. Together with NISSAN, both japanese manufacturers, leaded the auto sales market for many years in a row.

Afterwards, came the korean cars... the asian conquer of the american auto corporations.

Is this the sign of an hegemony change ?... Is AMERICA really that hurt ?
Is competitiveness the key crack-down factor for this consequences ?

The US will always mean marketing, show, branding, globality, with its own values and essence. But, is this enough to keep US sovereignity in the planet ??

AMERICA has voted for a change. Barack Obama, the first black president, meant a new change era and a barn of hopes for many americans. But is it enough with a good carisma and beautiful words ??

USA is now playing a tough game. The game of competitiveness, the game of innovation, the new rules of capitalism...

Can AMERICA workers compete with the 24-hour turns of japanese or chinese workers ?
Can AMERICA export more than import ?
Can AMERICA reissue the huge external debt owned by CHINA now ?

Does anyone know that the main owner of the USA is CHINA ?

Yes, the main owners of US debt is CHINA. If CHINA decides to do it, US Dollar can dissapear.

Nowadays, CHINA has lived of US imports. Therefore, CHINA has accumulated vast deposits of T-bonds and US Dollars. This has been the reason for the dollar stability.
Once CHINA develops their internal consumer rates, or begin diversifying their exports, CHINA will be in position to change US dollars for other currencies. Then, US Dollar will be dead.

Is AMERICA ready for this era ?
Does Barack Obama has a real plan to put a brake on this dynamic ?

Huge challenges ahead. But, for sure, the only opportunity for AMERICA is not to lose their essence. The AMERICAN DREAMT must be on, but politicians and decisions makers must also help on this.

One advice for Mr Obama:
Capitalism has not failed, it has been the lack of regulation in the financial markets.

It is very important to keep this clear, because around this point, the US must build their next future generations.




Jose Luis Revilla Escudero
Chairman&CEO
WWShares, Inc
-Global Wealth Management-
www.worldwideshares.blogspot.com