Quest for efficiency in higher education services and higher education reforms: Malmquist-Luenberger index application as a dynamic data envelopment analysis for higher education systems

The main aim of this study is to analyze how the prevailing transformation process in higher education system by 1980's be reverberated to the total factor productivity alterations in the higher education system of OECD countries. The original contributions can be listed as making a classification on the reform processes beginning by 1980's, to measure higher education system's total factor productivity using Malmquist-Luenberger Total Productivity Analyze which is based on a broad Data Envelopment Analyze that places undesired outputs on account, analyzing the total factor productivity in the higher education system of 20 OECD countries systematically in between 1998-2012 and providing detailed analysis on the reform process in those countries. The findings of the study indicate that while in the countries who pay attention to the prevailing transformation process, increases of technological change values push up the total factor productivity, technological change values in the countries who ignores that transformation process decreases the total factor productivity.