Is government funding critical to the operating performance of technology universities? A case study of Taiwan

This study utilizes the Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI) to evaluate the operating performance of technology universities in Taiwan. The bootstrap method is employed to analyze MPI sensitivity to verify the index’s stability. Our results suggest that the universities demonstrate an adequate level of performance with little improvement required. Technology universities with a greater proportion of total income from government subsidies did not evidence better operating performance. We argue that how universities obtain their funding is critical. Our findings will help universities (and their relevant departments) improve performance and better allocate resources.