Modeling Institutional Production of Higher Education

This study examines the input-output relationship for private undergraduate education. The objective s to identify the relative contributions of human and physical resources in the production of quality undergraduate education. The research methods are noteworthy in three general respects. First, the theoretical orientation emphasized interdependence among inputs and outputs in higher education. The significance of simultaneity is demonstrated in an empirical model estimated via a three-stage least-squares technique. Second, the study introduces an original and promising data set for research in higher educational production. Of special note is an index of output reflecting the quantity and quality of institutional production. Finally, the exclusive emphasis on private undergraduate institutions offers a well focused perspective for policy decisions in higher education. The report is organized as follows. Section 1 discusses the focus and contribution of this research in relation to the economics literature. Section 2 specifies a simultaneous model of educational production. Section 3 describes the data, variables, and estimation procedures. Empirical results appear in Section 4. Section 5 presents concluding remarks and suggestions for future research