The Efficiency of Regional Higher Education Systems and Competition in Russia
The Efficiency of Regional Higher Education Systems and Competition in Russia

Summary/Abstract: This paper explores the correlation between the degree of competition between higher education institutions(HEIs) and the efficiency of regional higher education systems using evidence from the RussianFederation. The choice of the regional system of higher education as a unit of analysis is explained by thefeatures of the Russian system of higher education, especially by “closeness” in the borders of regions. Wepropose a special approach for the evaluation of the regional higher education system efficiency from thepublic administration perspective. Using data envelopment analysis (DEA), we investigate the efficiency ofhigher education systems in the regions and compare the results with the extent of higher education competitionwithin them. The results indicate that higher efficiency scores and higher competition between HEIsin Russian regions are positively correlated. Moreover, by introducing socio-economic context status as agrouping parameter, we are able to specify the conditions of this relationship. The study explores that correlationbetween efficiency and competition is stronger in developing and low-performing regions. At the sametime, higher education systems in developed regions consist of different HEIs, which create a competitive environment,although their efficiency level varies considerably. Taking into account all limitations of the study,these results contain several important issues for policy-making and higher education research discussions.They challenge the universalistic assumptions for the direction of higher education development.

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