How Information Affects Support for Education Spending
Does support for increased education spending depend on current spending levels and citizens’ knowledge of them? In a paper just published in the Journal of Public Economics, Philipp Lergetporer, Katharina Werner, and Ludger Woessmann of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education together with ifo research professors Guido Schwerdt (Konstanz) and Martin West (Harvard) address this question using data from two representative opinion surveys – the ifo Education Survey in Germany and a comparable US survey by the Program on Education Policy and Governance at Harvard University. Support for increased education spending and teacher salaries falls both among Germans and Americans when respondents are informed about current spending levels in randomized survey experiments. more...
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Mixed Effects of Full-day vs Half-day Childcare
It is a controversial topic how long children should spend in childcare per day. On the one hand, full-day childcare allows parents to work longer hours. On the other hand, it is unclear to what extent children profit from it. In a study just published in the journal Labour Economics, Larissa Zierow of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education and Christina Felfe of the University of Würzburg analyze the effects of full-day vs half-day childcare on child development. Using administrative data from school entry examinations in Schleswig-Holstein and the Child and Youth Services, they investigate the reform-induced expansion of full-day childcare. They find that attending childcare full-day rather than half-day has negative effects on children’s socio-emotional well-being, in particular among children from disadvantaged families. At the same time, full-day care has positive effects on the school readiness of immigrant children. more...
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Effects of Removing the Master Craftsman Requirement
As part of the “Agenda 2010” reforms, a deregulation reform in Germany removed licensing requirements to become self-employed in about half of all craft occupations in 2004. This led to a surge in newly founded businesses in the deregulated occupations. A new study by Philipp Lergetporer and Lisa Simon of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education and Jens Ruhose of the University of Hannover finds that the reform led to a slight reduction in earnings and employment of incumbent employees in the deregulated craft occupations. The new business foundations had no effect on overall employment in the crafts sector. more...
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Complex Reform Proposals Scare off Voters
Does the complexity of ballot propositions affect voting behavior? In a study forthcoming in the European Journal of Political Economy, Zohal Hessami of the University of Konstanz and Sven Resnjanskij of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education investigate this question using data from 200,000 individual voting decisions in Swiss referenda. They find that complexity reduces voter turnout and increases the likelihood that the proposition is rejected in favor of the status quo. The status-quo bias is less pronounced for higher-educated citizens. In this respect, the results highlight the role of education for a well-functioning democracy. more...
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Public Opinion on Educational Reforms
In education policy, well-designed policy reforms may fail to get enacted because policymakers are suddenly confronted with a public backlash. To evaluate the chances of successful reforms, a survey published in the European Journal of Political Economy by Philipp Lergetporer and Ludger Woessmann of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education together with Marius Busemeyer of the University of Konstanz reviews current research on public opinion on education policy. The multifaceted evidence indicates that citizens place high priority on education policy, show substantial willingness to reform, and are responsive to information and adequate reform designs. more...
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Dissertation: Causes of Educational and Career Decisions
In her dissertation written at the ifo Center for the Economics of Education and accepted by the University of Munich, Natalie Obergruber examines individual and institutional determinants of educational performance and career choices. The four chapters examine effects of parental separation on children’s educational performance; the impact of a school reform that granted high-track school dropouts a lower-track degree upon successful completion of tenth grade; why school grades predict the choice of math-intensive occupations; and how historical inequality resulting from different inheritance rules is related to long-term development. more...
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Testing, Testing: The 123’s of Testing
Blog post by Lant Pritchett on the new study by Annika Bergbauer, Eric Hanushek, and Ludger Woessmann about the effects of examinations on the website of Research on Improving Systems of Education (RISE). more…
We Knew Fire Was Hot
Blog post by Lant Pritchett on research findings published by Ludger Woessmann and Martin West on the heterogeneity of class-size effects and what they mean for the external validity of research results more generally. more…
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Germany Should Be a Pioneer
A five-page interview with Ludger Woessmann in Focus-Business about Germany's path to the future, an education system for adults and a lack of equal opportunities. more…
Amazingly Modern
Interview in Die Zeit with Ludger Woessmann about the findings of the ifo Education Survey on the #MeToo debate and what youths think about education policies. more…
Education Policy is a Pillar of the Social Market Economy
In a commentary on the ARD website during its thematic week on “Justice”, Ludger Woessmann stresses that as an instrument for creating equal starting opportunities, education policy is a central pillar of the social market economy. more…
Germany Needs a Common Exit Exam Component
Viewpoint by Ludger Woessmann in Forschung & Lehre. more...
The Earlier, the Better
Interview with Ludger Woessmann on Deutschlandfunk on the subject of equal opportunities. more…
School Digitization still uncertain
TV news item in the ZDF heute program on the federal school digitization initiative featuring a statement by Ludger Woessmann on the importance of digital skills. more…
Ten Skipped Years
An article in Focus quotes Ludger Woessmann on teacher shortages and a national exit exam. more…
Why Poor Children Stay Poor
An article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung quotes Ludger Woessmann on the problems of ghettoization. more…
Plea for School Comparison
A Tagesspiegel article about the new ifo study on the different effects of internal and external comparative tests. more…
Humboldt Revisited: Is Education Yoked to Economic Efficiency?
The journal zur debatte published by the Catholic Academy in Bavaria has printed a conversation between Klaus Zierer, Rainer Stadler, and Ludger Woessmann on perspectives for education today to mark the 250th birthday of Wilhelm von Humboldt. more…
God's Punishment, God's Grace
An article in Spektrum - Die Woche refers to the research of Sascha Becker and Ludger Woessmann on denominational differences in suicide behavior. more...
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Selected Presentations
Larissa Zierow presented a poster about the implications of full-day care for children’s development at the Forum on Educational Policy 2018 of the Leibniz Education Research Network (LERN) in Berlin in September.
Larissa Zierow also gave a presentation about the attractiveness of non-academic occupations at the Munich Science Days in November.
On 6 November, Ludger Woessmann gave a presentation on “The Economic Importance of Education” at the “Weitblicke” series of the Ministry for the Economy, Innovation, Digitization and Energy of North Rhine-Westphalia in Düsseldorf.
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Articles in Refereed Journals
Marius R. Busemeyer, Philipp Lergetporer, Ludger Woessmann, “Public Opinion and the Political Economy of Educational Reforms: A Survey”, European Journal of Political Economy 53: 161-185, 2018.
Philipp Lergetporer, Guido Schwerdt, Katharina Werner, Martin R. West, Ludger Woessmann, "How Information Affects Support for Education Spending: Evidence from Survey Experiments in Germany and the United States", Journal of Public Economics 167: 138-157, 2018.
Christina Felfe, Larissa Zierow, "From Dawn till Dusk: Implications of Full-Day Care for Children's Development", Labour Economics 55: 259-281, 2018.
Working Papers
Zohal Hessami, Sven Resnjanskij, "Complex Ballot Propositions, Individual Voting Behavior, and Status quo Bias", CESifo Working Paper 7276, September 2018.
Philipp Lergetporer, Jens Ruhose, Lisa Simon, "Entry Barriers and the Labor Market Outcomes of Incumbent Workers: Evidence from a Deregulation Reform in the German Crafts Sector", CESifo Working Paper 7274, September 2018.
Further Articles
Annika B. Bergbauer, Eric A. Hanushek, Ludger Woessmann, “Extern vergleichende Prüfungen verbessern die Schülerleistungen“, ifo Schnelldienst 71 (20): 16-19, 2018.
Annika B. Bergbauer, Eric A. Hanushek, Ludger Woessmann, “Testing with Accountability Improves Student Achievement”, VOX, 19.9.2018.
Ludger Woessmann, „Deutschland braucht ein gemeinsames Kernabitur“, Forschung & Lehre 25 (12): 1029, 2018.
Monographs
Natalie Obergruber, Microeconometric Analysis of Individual and Institutional Determinants of Education and Occupational Choice, ifo Beiträge zur Wirtschaftsforschung 80, 2018.
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After completing her Master’s degree at Bocconi University in Milan, Lavinia Kinne joined the ifo Center for the Economics of Education in October. A warm welcome!
Natalie Obergruber left the Center after successfully completing her PhD. We wish her all the best for the future! |
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