The Restructuring of the Education Sector through the Participation of Foreign Investment:

an Analysis Focusing on the Years 2014-2017 of Private Higher Education Institutions in Brazil

Abstract

Merger, acquisition and alliance events have been taking place since 2001 in the higher education sector private Brazilian. This resulted in the expansion of educational groups from foreign investment. The study evaluates data from 55 educational institutions of six educational groups between the years 2014 and 2017. It was possible to verify that a restructuring of the sector is underway by calculating the Hirschman-Herfindahl index. In light of the application of the DEA methodology, variables showing the relative efficiency of the institutions were analyzed. Of the 55 institutions analyzed, seven were considered efficient from a quantitative perspective and five were considered efficient in qualitative terms. The Tobit regression model was used to compare and verify the effect of the results on efficiency levels. The indicators considered influencing were the total number of students per total number of teachers, the inflow of foreign capital and the total number of PhD per total number of teachers. It was then concluded that the level of quantitative efficiency was the one that most contributed to the positive results of the relative efficiency level.