Smarter teachers produce smarter students
The recently released PISA results again showed that student performance differs greatly between countries. In their study published in the Journal of Human Resources, Marc Piopiunik from the ifo Center for the Economics of Education and ifo research professors Eric A. Hanushek from Stanford University and Simon Wiederhold from the University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt examine whether these differences in student achievement can be explained by teacher quality. They find that student performance is indeed better when teachers have higher cognitive skills. Thus, student performance benefits from smarter teachers. more...
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Decentralized unemployment services are less successful
Does it make sense to decentralize public employment services? Lukas Mergele from the ifo Center for the Economics of Education and Michael Weber from ifo Dresden investigate this question by examining the devolution of 41 job centers in Germany in 2012. Their study, which has just been accepted for publication in the Journal of Public Economics, shows that job seekers' reemployment prospects are lower if the job centers are more decentralized. This effect can be explained by the fact that decentralized employment agencies make use of less effective training measures. more...
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EU membership raises student achievement in Eastern Europe
In her study published in Education Economics, Annika Bergbauer (formerly from the ifo Center for the Economics of Education) examines the consequences of membership in the European Union for student performance in Eastern European countries. Using PISA data, she shows that students' reading achievement increases when a country becomes member of the EU. The improved student achievement can be explained by the higher prosperity of the families and the improved school efficiency through EU membership. more...
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Longer compulsory schooling increases numeracy skills at older ages
In a new working paper, Franziska Hampf from the ifo Center for the Economics of Education examines the long-term effects of a reform of compulsory schooling. In the 1950s and 1960s, West German Länder extended compulsory schooling from 8 to 9 years. Some Länder also introduced two short school years to harmonize the school-year start nationwide. Using data from the PIAAC Survey of Adult Competencies - the so-called "Adult PISA" - she shows that students with longer schooling due to the reforms have significantly higher numeracy skills when they are 50 to 70 years old. The positive reform effects contrast with results from earlier studies. more...
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Information on actual spending lowers support for increases
A new study by Philipp Lergetporer, Katharina Werner, and Ludger Woessmann from the ifo Center for the Economics of Education with ifo research professor Guido Schwerdt from the University of Konstanz, Maria Cattaneo from the Coordination Center for Education Research in Switzerland, and Stefan C. Wolter from the University of Bern shows that information about the actual level of public education spending substantially decreases approval for future increases in education spending in Switzerland. This result is in line with prior evidence from Germany and the United States which suggests that information provision has similar effects on policy preferences across countries. The few existing differences in policy preferences between countries can be rationalized with differences in the education systems. more...
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Do minorities try to avoid discrimination?
Discrimination against minorities is pervasive in many societies, but little is known about minorities' strategies to avoid being discriminated against. A new study by Nikoloz Kudashvili from Charles University Prague and Philipp Lergetporer from the ifo Center for the Economics of Education examines whether minority-group members misrepresent their ethnicity to avoid discrimination. Their experiment with 758 high-school students in the country of Georgia shows that almost half of Armenian minority-group members misrepresent their ethnicity when interacting with ethnic Georgians. This behavior eliminates existing discrimination of Georgians against Armenians. more...
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Measurement of student achievement counts
In the context of the recently published PISA results, one question is often raised: Do we need the PISA study in the first place? Clearly yes, say Eric Hanushek from Stanford University and Ludger Woessmann from the ifo Center for the Economics of Education. In their inaugural contribution to the new blog www.international-education.blog, they argue that measuring student achievement is important. The internationally comparable PISA scores are a good index of the future quality of the labor force in each country, which in turn has been shown be a decisive factor in determining long-run economic growth. Measuring student achievement also helps to identify appropriate educational policies. more...
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A EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE: EENEE
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Analytical Report:
Eric A. Hanushek and Ludger Woessmann: The Economic Benefits of Improving Educational Achievement in the European Union, EENEE Analytical Report 39
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Better PISA performance could greatly increase economic growth
In the context of the publication of the new PISA results at the beginning of December, Die Welt, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the Tagesspiegel, Die Presse, br.de, swr.de, and others report on the above-mentioned EENEE report by Eric Hanushek and Ludger Woessmann that shows that German economic growth would increase by 7.3 percent in the long run if student achievement improved by 25 PISA points.
Hope goes to school
A Focus article about students' poor language skills mentions results of the ifo Education Survey that Germans would support free and compulsory preschool. more...
Study first, pay later
An article in Die Zeit recommending downstream tuition fees uses the results of the ifo Education Survey as an argument in their favor. more...
How I became a drag queen for my child
A contribution in Die Zeit about school financing in the US quotes the expert opinion of Ludger Woessmann. more...
Why an apprenticeship can be better than university studies
The earning prospects of a master's certificate in vocational education determined by an ifo study are mentioned in an article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. more...
Profitable fields of study
An article in Welt am Sonntag on salary rankings refers to the same study by the ifo Center for the Economics of Education, which calculates salary differences between different educational qualifications and disciplines across Germany.
Hobbies on the CV: What you have to pay attention to
In an article about hobbies on the CV, the Süddeutsche Zeitung refers to an ifo study on the relevant characteristics of applicants for HR managers. more...
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Ludwig Erhard Prize - 2nd and 3rd place go to ifo scientists
In October 2019, Larissa Zierow and Lisa Simon, both from the ifo Center for the Economics of Education, were awarded top-3 nominations at the Ludwig Erhard Prize in Fürth for their outstanding doctoral theses. more....
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Videos on Policy Lab and educational study available online
On the ifo Youtube channel, Eric Hanushek and Ludger Woessmann present their "International Comparative Education Policy Lab". Another video briefly explains the results of a study on the socio-economic gap in student achievement in the United States, which has remained unchanged for 50 years.
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New presentations
Ludger Woessmann gave a presentation on "Religion in Historical Economics" at the "Handbook of Historical Economics" conference at New York University in October 2019. He also presented "Can Schools Change Religious Attitudes? Evidence from German State Reforms of Compulsory Religious Education" at Harvard University.
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Articles in refereed journals
Annika B. Bergbauer, "How Did EU Membership of Eastern Europe Affect Student Achievement?", Education Economics 27 (6): 624 - 644, 2019.
Eric A. Hanushek, Marc Piopiunik and Simon Wiederhold, "The Value of Smarter Teachers: International Evidence on Teacher Cognitive Skills and Student Performance", Journal of Human Resources 54 (4): 857-899, 2019.
Lukas Mergele and Michael Weber, "Public Employment Services under Decentralization: Evidence from a Natural Experiment", Journal of Public Economics, forthcoming, also published as CESifo Working Paper No. 7957.
Working papers
Maria Cattaneo, Philipp Lergetporer, Guido Schwerdt, Katharina Werner, Ludger Woessmann and Stefan C. Wolter, "Information Provision and Preferences for Education Spending: Evidence from Representative Survey Experiments in three Countries", CESifo Working Paper No. 7936, November 2019.
Franziska Hampf, "The Effect of Compulsory Schooling on Skills: Evidence from a Reform in Germany", ifo Working Paper No. 313, November 2019.
Katharina Heisig and Larissa Zierow, "The baby year parental leave reform in the GDR and its impact on children's long-term life satisfaction", SOEPpapers No. 1059, December 2019.
Nikoloz Kudashvili and Philipp Lergetporer, "Do Minorities Misrepresent Their Ethnicity to Avoid Discrimination?", CESifo Working Paper No. 7861, September 2019.
Further articles
Oliver Falck and Ludger Woessmann, "Blackboard vs. Computers: It Depends on the Application", blog article on https://international-education.blog, November 2019.
Eric A. Hanushek and Ludger Woessmann, "Knowledge Capital and Economic Growth". In: R. Becker (ed.), Research Handbook on Sociology of Education, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 476-497, 2019.
Eric A. Hanushek and Ludger Woessmann, "Measurement Counts: International Student Tests and Economic Growth", blog article on https://international-education.blog, November 2019.
Katharina Heisig and Larissa Zierow, "Einjährige Elternzeit erhöhte Lebenszufriedenheit der Kinder in der DDR", Ökonomenstimme, October 2019.
Marc Piopiunik, "Smarter Teachers Produce Smarter Students. This (Partly) Explains the Country Rankings in PISA", blog article on https://international-education.blog, November 2019.
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The ifo Center for the Economics of Education aims to promote young scientists and regularly offers internships to students of economics.
Lukas Mergele was awarded the Add-On Fellowship for Interdisciplinary Economics by the Joachim Herz Foundation.
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