Educational Infrastructure Efficiency in China: A Dual-Method Provincial Analysis With Cross-National Benchmarking, 2020–2025

This study evaluates the efficiency of educational infrastructure investment in China and Colombia between 2020 and 2025. The research aims to measure technical efficiency, identify institutional and contextual determinants, and assess whether infrastructure investment causally improves educational outcomes. Using a dual-method approach—Data Envelopment Analysis and Stochastic Frontier Analysis—combined with panel Granger causality tests, the study analyzes provincial and departmental data from multilateral sources. Results show substantial efficiency variation within and between countries, with Chinese provinces operating closer to the efficiency frontier than Colombian departments. Diminishing returns to infrastructure investment are evident, while governance quality, urbanization, and budget execution rates significantly shape efficiency patterns. Causality tests confirm that infrastructure investment precedes improvements in educational outcomes.