School closures must not lead to a complete stop of learning
Corona-related school closures pose unimagined challenges for the school system and families. In a recent commentary in the Wirtschaftsdienst, Ludger Woessmann of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education argues that the school closures must not lead to a complete stop of learning. Schools and teachers must provide students with materials and tasks so that they can stay on the ball. In particular, they must ensure, by means of appropriate feedback obligations, that the children and youths are actually engaged with the learning material. Structured daily routines can also help to cope with the immense psychological strain on children and families caused by being at home for weeks on end and a lack of contact with peers. more...
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Who is invited to a job interview?
In their CVs, applicants want to send signals to their potential employers to convince them of their skills. But which signals are appreciated by companies? Lisa Simon of Stanford University, Guido Schwerdt of the University of Konstanz, and Marc Piopiunik and Ludger Woessmann of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education investigate this in their study just published in the European Economic Review. Their CV experiment with almost 600 human-resource managers shows that both cognitive and social skills have a significant impact on being invited for an interview. While school and college grades and social skills are significant for both genders, females are particularly rewarded for IT and language skills. Older HR managers value school grades less and other signals more. HR managers in larger firms value college grades more. more...
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School degrees for high-school dropouts: a successful reform
In their study just published in the Economics of Education Review, Natalie Obergruber and Larissa Zierow of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education evaluate a reform on early school leavers in Germany. In the post-war period, students who dropped out of the upper secondary school (Gymnasium) did not receive a formal school-leaving certificate. In 1965, the Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs decided that students who successfully completed the 9th or 10th grade of the Gymnasium should automatically be awarded a certificate equivalent to completing the German Hauptschule or Realschule. Based on data from the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), the study finds that the reform not only reduced downgrading to lower school tracks, but also increased successful completion of the Gymnasium, university entrance rates, and later income of the students. more...
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Better student performance in the EU would bring trillions of euros
While the educational goals of policy makers are often motivated by potential economic outcomes, the magnitude of any such gains are seldom available to guide any educational policies. In an article accepted for publication in the journal Education Economics, Eric A. Hanushek of Stanford University and Ludger Woessmann of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education quantify the economic benefits of educational improvement covered by the educational goals of the European Union. An increase in student achievement of 25 PISA points across the EU would, for example, be expected to add €71 trillion in present value to EU GDP over the status quo. By contrast, the more limited EU goal of reducing low achievement to 15 percent by country would have an impact of only €5 trillion. more...
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Should educational reforms be tested experimentally?
In their new study, Mira Fischer of the Berlin Social Science Center (WZB) and Elisabeth Grewenig, Philipp Lergetporer, and Katharina Werner of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education examine whether the population favors testing educational reforms through small-scale experiments before they are introduced. A survey of almost 2,000 respondents shows that a three-quarter majority is in favor. In a survey experiment, the authors show that public support is independent of whether the word "experiments" is explicitly used or not. The result suggests that there is political scope for experimental evaluation of policy measures. more...
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Overview of returns to education in Germany
The book "The Education System in Germany: Current Situation and Potential", published in German by the Leibniz Education Research Network, provides a comprehensive overview of education in Germany over the entire life span. Franziska Kugler and Ludger Woessmann of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education contribute a chapter on the returns to education. more...
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Dissertation: Education, skills, and labor-market success
In her dissertation written at the ifo Center for the Economics of Education and accepted by the University of Munich, Franziska Hampf studies the interrelation between education, skills, and labor-market outcomes using high-quality skill data from the PIAAC Survey. The separate chapters deal with the effect of compulsory schooling on labor-market relevant cognitive skills in Germany; effects of economic conditions at high-school graduation on college investments, skill formation, and labor-market outcomes; the role of cognitive skills in explaining differences in university wage premia across countries; and the differential employment effects of vocational vs. general education. more...
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IN THE INTERNATIONAL NEWS
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Global student slump: More money hasn't helped. What will?
An article in the Christian Science Monitor quotes Ludger Woessmann with the demand to give schools more autonomy to improve student performance. more...
The link between standardized testing and student achievement
In the podcast "The Education Exchange", Ludger Woessmann discusses the role of externally comparable tests for student performance with Paul E. Peterson. more...
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Of course something is lost in distance learning
In interviews in the Süddeutsche Zeitung and on NDR Info, Ludger Woessmann comments on the possible consequences of school closures due to the corona virus. He stresses that learning must continue, for example via digital learning platforms.
School closures: Corona-free with consequences
Various articles in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the Süddeutsche Zeitung, the Magazin Schule and the Nordbayerischer Kurier also quote Ludger Woessmann on the consequences of the school closures.
German universities are not among the world leaders
In the context that German universities are not at the top of international rankings, the Welt quotes Ludger Woessmann on its front page about what is needed for top research at German universities. more...
Child care deficits in Germany's daycare centers
In an article on the quality of child care in German daycare centers, the Welt quotes Larissa Zierow's study on the effects of all-day care for small children. more...
Not enough for education
An article in the Welt quotes Ludger Woessmann on the economic returns of improved education. more...
Lack of teacher boosts trend towards private schools - a way out of the education crisis?
An article in the Handelsblatt about private schools reports Ludger Woessmann's proposal to equalize the financial situation of independent schools and public schools. more...
Future job market opportunities
The Pforzheimer Zeitung and focus.de quote Ludger Woessmann on the risk of routine jobs with regard to future job market opportunities in the face of technological change.
Worse job opportunities in decentralized job centers
The Badische Zeitung reports on the new study by Lukas Mergele on the different placement chances of unemployed people in decentralized job centers compared to joint institutions of municipalities and the Employment Agency. more...
Wage comparison: Who gets rich?
An article in the Süddeutsche Zeitung on income studies quotes a study by the ifo Center for the Economics of Education on life income by educational level. more...
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Conference on "Econometric Evaluation of School Reforms" cancelled
To better understand which educational policies can help improve the efficiency and equity of education systems, the ifo Center for the Economics of Education and the WZB Berlin Social Science Center planned to organize a joint conference. The aim was to bring together researchers who study how different school reforms affect student outcomes. The keynote lecture was to be given by Joshua Angrist from MIT. Unfortunately, the conference fell victim to the Corona virus. But the planned program gives an exciting overview of current research on the topic.
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Cancelled conferences
As many other national and international conferences, those of the German Association for Empirical Education Research (GEBF) and the German Society for Educational Sciences (DGfE), at each of which Ludger Woessmann had been invited to give a keynote lecture, had to be cancelled due to the Corona virus. Hopefully we will soon be able to enter into personal scientific exchange again!
Selected presentations
In early January, Ludger Woessmann presented his paper "Can Schools Change Religious Attitudes?" at the annual meeting of the American Economic Association in San Diego. Together with Eric Hanushek, he presented "Corsing the SES Achievement Gap: Trends in U.S. Student Performance" at Stanford University at the end of last year.
In February, Larissa Zierow gave a lecture on equity in the economic sciences at an event of the European Academy of Bavaria and the Rock Your Life! Foundation under the motto "Your Time for Equity".
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Articles in refereed journals
Eric A. Hanushek and Ludger Woessmann, "A Quantitative Look at the Economic Impact of the European Union's Educational Goals", Education Economics, forthcoming.
Natalie Obergruber and Larissa Zierow, "Students' Behavioural Responses to a Fallback Option - Evidence from Introducing Interim Degrees in German Schools", Economics of Education Review 75: 101956, 2020.
Marc Piopiunik, Guido Schwerdt, Lisa Simon and Ludger Woessmann, "Skills, Signals, and Employability: An Experimental Investigation", European Economic Review 123: 103374, 2020.
Monographs
Franziska Hampf, "Education, Skills & Labor-Market Success: Microeconometric Analyses Using Large-Scale Skills Assessments", ifo Beiträge zur Wirtschaftsforschung 89, 2020.
Working papers
Mira Fischer, Elisabeth Grewenig, Philipp Lergetporer and Katharina Werner, "The E-Word – On the Public Acceptance of Experiments", CRC Rationality & Competition Discussion Paper 219, December 2019.
Eric A. Hanushek, Paul E. Peterson, Laura M. Talpey and Ludger Woessmann, "Long-Run Trends in the U.S. SES-Achievement Gap", CESifo Working Paper 8111, February 2020.
Further articles
Eric A. Hanushek and Ludger Woessmann, "Education, Knowledge Capital, and Economic Growth", in: S. Bradley, C. Green (eds.), The Economics of Education: A Comprehensive Overview, Second Edition, London: Academic Press/Elsevier, 171-182, 2020.
Franziska Kugler and Ludger Woessmann, "Bildungserträge", in: O. Köller, M. Hasselhorn, F.W. Hesse, K. Maaz, J. Schrader, H. Solga, Heike, C.K. Spieß, K. Zimmer (eds.), Das Bildungswesen in Deutschland: Bestand und Potenziale, Bad Heilbrunn: Julius Klinkhardt / UTB, 231-262, 2019.
Lukas Mergele und Michael Weber, "Jobcenter: Optionskommunen vermitteln Arbeitslose seltener in Beschäftigung", ifo Schnelldienst 73 (2): 39-44, 2020.
Ludger Woessmann, "Bildungschancen als Schlüssel für den Wohlstand der Nationen", in: J. Allmendinger, O. Jarren, C. Kaufmann, H. Kriesi, D. Kübler (eds.), Zeitenwende: Kurze Antworten auf große Fragen der Gegenwart, Zürich: Orell Füssli, 45-54, 2019.
Ludger Woessmann, "Schulschließungen: Kompletten Lernstopp verhindern", Wirtschaftsdienst 100 (4): 228, 2020.
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Franziska Hampf successfully completed her PhD at the University of Munich in January 2020. Congratulations!
Ludger Woessmann and Pietro Sancassani finished their research stays at Stanford University and KU Leuven, respectively, and are now back to their projects in Munich at the ifo Institute.
The ifo Center for the Economics of Education is looking for a specialist (Fachreferent*in) (full-time/part-time min. 30 hours) to support our work in education economics and science management. more ...
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