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Educational Aspiration Gap Not Explained by Economic Ignorance
Which educational degrees do Germans want their children to have? 74 percent of German university graduates, but only 36 percent of those without a university degree favor a university degree for their children. These are the results of a new CESifo Working Paper by Philipp Lergetporer, Katharina Werner, and Ludger Woessmann of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education based on data from the ifo Education Survey. When survey participants were informed about earnings differences between academics and non-academics and about available student aid in the survey experiment, the gap in educational aspirations widened even further. These results cast doubt that ignorance of economic returns and costs of studying explains educational inequality in Germany. more...
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Ethnic Enclaves Hamper Integration of Migrant Children
Regional placement plays a key role in the current debate about the integration of refugees. Two factors need to be considered: On the one hand, placement in centers may promote ethnic networks that could facilitate labor market access. On the other hand, it may give rise to enclaves that hamper language skill acquisition and integration. To address this key issue empirically, Marc Piopiunik and Ludger Woessmann of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education together with Alexander Danzer and Carsten Feuerbaum of the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt study the example of the guest workers who came to Germany in the 1960s and 1970s. The study shows that exposure to a higher regional concentration of migrants from the same country of origin impaired German language proficiency and increased school drop-out among the children of guest workers. This effect can largely be attributed to their parents’ lower German language skills. The findings point to the potential threat of ethnic enclaves to the integration of migrant and refugee children. more...
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Expert Council Calls for Digital Sovereignty
In its new report “Digital Sovereignty and Education”, the Expert Council on Education (Aktionsrat Bildung), of which Ludger Woessmann of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education is a member, looks at the impact of digitalization at all levels of education. The digital transformation brings far-reaching changes to society and calls for continuous learning to master the skills required to use digital media. The report develops recommendations for technical equipment and infrastructure in educational institutions, continuous training of teaching staff, research and development, and the digitalization of instruction. more... |
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Cultural Differences in Patience Already in Primary School
Patience is a key indicator for achieving long-term goals like a higher educational degree. A behavioral experiment among primary school children in the bilingual city of Meran in South Tyrol investigates the link between patience and language group affiliation. It shows that German-speaking children are more prepared than Italian-speaking children to forego a reward in the present in order to obtain a greater reward in the future. Cultural background as proxied by language group affiliation thus plays an important role in shaping economic preferences like patience already early in life. The study, which was just published in the European Economic Review, was authored by Philipp Lergetporer of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education together with Matthias Sutter, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods in Bonn, Silvia Angerer, UMIT University, and Daniela Glätzle-Rützler, University of Innsbruck. more...
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The Role of Educational Spending for National Identity in Prussia
How did public spending on primary education affect the emergence of a national identity in Prussia? This issue is explored by Francesco Cinnirella and Ruth Schueler in a study recently published in Explorations in Economic History. On the basis of Prussian data from the late 19th century, the authors show that higher education spending by the Prussian state increased the share of votes for nationally-oriented parties in the Reichstag elections (as well as, to a lesser extent, election participation). This indoctrination was particularly successful in constituencies with large shares of religious or linguistic minorities. In this sense, the expansion of elementary schools in Prussia helped to gain the support of “loyal citizens”. more...
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Educational Migrant Selection and Relatedness between Countries
The link between educational migrant selection and the relatedness between countries is the topic of a study just published in the Journal of International Economics by Tim Krieger and Laura Renner of the University of Freiburg and Jens Ruhose of the Leibniz University of Hannover which was written during his time at the ifo Center for the Economics of Education. The authors measure the relatedness between sending and recipient countries by the genetic distance, which lends itself as an indicator of deeply-rooted cultural views of a society. They find that, after an initial negative effect, growing genetic distance between countries increases the positive selection of migrants. more...
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Can Erroneous Decisions Reflect Rational Behavior?
It can be quite rational to make erroneous decisions – in situations where the costs of arriving at better decisions are high. This is shown in a new study by Sven Resnjanskij of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education and Jan Hausfeld of the University of Konstanz. In a laboratory experiment, students whose time was made more valuable decided faster – but also made more mistakes. The higher mistake rate was balanced by the value of the saved time. The results show that observed mistakes in decision-making do not necessarily reflect irrational behavior but may result from a rational trade-off between the quality of decisions and the opportunity cost of time. more...
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Analytical Reports:
Edwin Leuven and Hessel Oosterbeek: Class Size and Student Outcomes in Europe, EENEE Analytical Report 33
Daniel Münich and George Psacharopoulos: Education Externalities - What They Are and What We Know, EENEE Analytical Report 34
Policy Briefs:
1/2018: Michel Vandenbroeck, Karolien Lenaerts, and Miroslav Beblavý: How to Ensure that the Benefits of Early Childhood Education and Care are Realised
2/2018: Edwin Leuven and Hessel Oosterbeek: Class Size and Student Outcomes in Europe
3/2018: Daniel Münich and George Psacharopoulos: The Many Hidden Benefits of Education
Answers to Ad-hoc Questions:
Allan Seuri: Impact of Finnish Budget Cuts on Access and Quality of Education. Answer to EENEE Ad-hoc Question 1/2018
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Which Competences Do Job Applicants Need?
Article by Ludger Woessmann in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on the results of the new study by the ifo Center for the Economics of Education on the influence of different elements of applicants’ curriculum on the labor market. more...
The Final Grade Is One of the Most Important Factors
Radio interview in Deutschlandfunk with Ludger Woessmann on the new study by the ifo Center for the Economics of Education on what is important to personnel managers. more...
We Lose 4.4 Trillion Euros
Interview with Ludger Woessmann in didacta Infodienst. more...
Dumb and Nothing Learned
The Süddeutsche Zeitung cites Ludger Woessmann in an article on equal opportunity in education. more...
The Over-Digitalization of Germany’s Children
Die Welt features the report “Digital Sovereignty and Education” of the Expert Council on Education and refers to the results of the ifo Education Survey on Germans’ opinions on which educational institutions should teach digital and media competences. more...
Digital Lessons
A radio feature broadcast in Campusmagazin on B5 aktuell on a digital platform for school classes includes an interview with Ludger Woessmann. more...
Hans-Werner Sinn Turns 70
Radio feature on WDR 5 in Wirtschaftsmagazin Profit with Ludger Woessmann to mark the birthday of Hans-Werner Sinn. more...
What Germany Is Willing to Spend on its Students
Die Welt cites Ludger Woessmann in an article on higher education spending. more...
Competition Is Bad for Business
An article in the Süddeutsche Zeitung on teacher shortages in Germany cites Ludger Woessmann. more...
Why the Economic Case for Education Must Be Ignored
Contribution by Ludger Woessmann in the Annual Report 2017 “Education and Economics” of the Kalaidos Bildungsgruppe Schweiz. more...
Strong Curriculum Vitae
A Deutsche Welle program in Russian on the study published by the ifo Center for the Economics of Education on the role of various competences on a curriculum vitae. more...
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Expert Council on Education Presents Report on Digital Sovereignty
On 16 May 2018, the Expert Council on Education (Aktionsrat Bildung) presented its new report on Digital Sovereignty and Education at the event “Germany Has a Future” at the Bavarian Industry Association headquarters in Munich. On a panel, Ludger Woessmann discussed with Bernd Sibler, Bavarian Minister of Education, and others how education at all levels can be adapted to meet the needs of a digitalized world.
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Presentation at the China Development Forum
At the China Development Forum, held on 24-26 March 2018 in Beijing, Ludger Woessmann gave a presentation on “Knowledge Capital and Development for All”.
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Presentation on Educational Aspirations at Stanford University
Ludger Woessmann’s presentation in the seminar series of the Center for Education Policy Analysis (CEPA) at Stanford University on the educational aspiration gap is available online.
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Articles in Refereed Journals
Francesco Cinnirella, Ruth M. Schueler, “Nation Building: The Role of Central Spending in Education”, Explorations in Economic History 67: 18-39, 2018.
Tim Krieger, Laura Renner, Jens Ruhose, “Long-Term Relatedness between Countries and International Migrant Selection”, Journal of International Economics 113: 35-54, 2018.
Matthias Sutter, Silvia Angerer, Daniela Glätzle-Rützler, Philipp Lergetporer, “Language Group Differences in Time Preferences: Evidence from Primary School Children in a Bilingual City”, European Economic Review 106: 21-34, 2018.
Monographs
Aktionsrat Bildung, Digitale Souveränität und Bildung, Münster: Waxmann, 2018.
Working Paper
Alexander M. Danzer, Carsten Feuerbaum, Marc Piopiunik, Ludger Woessmann, “Growing up in Ethnic Enclaves: Language Proficiency and Educational Attainment of Immigrant Children”, CESifo Working Paper 7079, June 2018.
Jan Hausfeld, Sven Resnjanskij, “Risky Decisions and the Opportunity Cost of Time”, TWI Working Paper 108, Konstanz: Thurgau Institute of Economics at the University of Konstanz, December 2017.
Philipp Lergetporer, Katharina Werner, Ludger Woessmann, "Does Ignorance of Economic Returns and Costs Explain the Educational Aspiration Gap? Evidence from Representative Survey Experiments", CESifo Working Paper 7000, April 2018.
Further Articles
Marc Piopiunik, Guido Schwerdt, Lisa Simon, Ludger Woessmann, “CV Elements that Will Get You a Job Interview”, VOX, 23.2.2018.
Marc Piopiunik, Guido Schwerdt, Lisa Simon, Ludger Woessmann, “Wie wirken sich Merkmale im Lebenslauf auf dem Arbeitsmarkt aus?“, Ökonomenstimme, 2.3.2018.
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During summer semester 2018, Marc Piopiunik holds an interim professorship for statistics and econometrics at the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg. After successfully completing her Ph.D., Ruth Schueler joined the German Economic Institute (IW) in Cologne. We wish them all the best for their new tasks!
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