The economic costs of lost learning due to the Corona-induced school closures
How will the months-long school closures due to the coronavirus pandemic affect the future development of the children and adolescents? In a contribution in the ifo Schnelldienst, Ludger Woessmann, head of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education, refers to insights from strike-induced school closures, pre-planned short school years, and long summer holidays that a lack of schooling permanently impairs skill development and future labor-market success. Extensive research in the economics of education suggests that the loss of one third of a school year's learning is associated with an income loss of about 3-4 percent on average over the entire working life. Moreover, school closures lead to a widening of the gap in skill development, with corresponding consequences for inequality in society. more...
|
|
|
Over 90 economists sign educational call on Corona
Under the title "Make education possible! Teaching and early-childhood learning despite partially closed schools and day-care centers", Ludger Woessmann and five other professors launched an appeal on 3 May 2020 which was signed at short notice by more than 90 German economists working on education issues. They call for urgent attention to the manifold and serious consequences of the closure of day-care centers and schools, and for comprehensive measures to provide early-childhood and school education immediately in an appropriate format for all age groups. They outline which concrete measures could be taken –
from improving distance learning over the partial opening of day-care centers and schools for all children to the adaptation of next year's curricula. more...
|
|
|
|
German East-West differences existed already before the GDR
The German separation in 1949 into a communist East and a capitalist West and their reunification in 1990 are commonly described as a
"natural experiment" to study the enduring effects of communism. In their new study published in the Journal of Economic Perspectives, Sascha Becker from Monash University in Melbourne and Lukas Mergele and Ludger Woessmann from the ifo Center for the Economics of Education show in three steps that the populations in East and West Germany already differed before the division. First, the later border is already visible in many socio-economic characteristics in pre-World War II data. Second, the war and the subsequent occupying forces affected East and West differently. Third, a selective fifth of the population fled from East to West Germany before the Wall was built in 1961. Therefore, the extensive literature on the enduring
"effects" of communist systems on economic outcomes, political preferences, cultural traits, and gender roles should be interpreted with caution. more...
|
|
|
Unexpected advantages of graduating from high school in a recession
Bad economic conditions at the end of high school increase college enrollment and graduation, with positive long-term impacts on individuals' cognitive skills and labor-market success. This is the result of a new study by Franziska Hampf and Marc Piopiunik from the ifo Center for the Economics of Education with ifo Research Professor Simon Wiederhold from the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt based on the PIAAC data for 28 OECD countries. Only the economic conditions at high-school graduation, but not those during earlier or later years affect outcomes. Moreover, recessions at high-school graduation narrow the long-run gender gaps in numeracy skills and labor-market success, as women's educational and labor-market decisions are particularly responsive to recessions. more...
|
|
|
Education for democratic competence: Report of the Expert Council on Education
Is democracy in Germany in danger? And what can education contribute to preserve it? These questions are addressed in a new report by the Expert Council on Education with Ludger Woessmann. They start with a discussion of the causes and consequences of the worldwide increase in anti-democratic tendencies from an interdisciplinary perspective. Then, they depict the status quo for all phases of education: How important is democracy education in educational plans and in the training of educational staff? What about the democratic competencies of the participants in the educational system? From this stocktaking, the Expert Council on Education derives concrete recommendations for political decision-makers. more...
|
|
|
Children discriminate already at pre-school age
Discrimination is a well-known phenomenon among adults, but little is known about its origins in childhood. In their study recently published in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Philipp Lergetporer from the ifo Center for the Economics of Education and Parampreet Christopher Bindra and Daniela Glätzle-Rützler from the University of Innsbruck investigate the discrimination behavior of pre-school children. They find that children allocate more resources to their in-group than to the out-group. This finding applies to the division of children into girls and boys as well as different pre-school group affiliations. In addition, discrimination tends to get stronger with age. more...
|
|
|
Information on education spending levels reduces support for spending increases
In their article published in the European Journal of Political Economy, Maria Cattaneo and Stefan Wolter from the Swiss Coordination Center for Research in Education, Guido Schwerdt from the University of Konstanz, and Philipp Lergetporer, Katharina Werner, and Ludger Woessmann from the ifo Center for the Economics of Education show that providing information about the actual level of public education spending substantially decreases approval for future increases in education spending in Switzerland. This result confirms earlier findings for Germany and the United States that information provision has similar effects on policy preferences across countries. more...
|
|
|
|
A EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE: EENEE
|
|
Long-term school closures lead to permanent loss of income
Numerous media report on Ludger Woessmann's study on the economic costs of Corona-related lack of learning, including Spiegel online, Bild.de, Frankfurter Rundschau, Die Presse, Stern.de, and Wiarda Blog.
90 economists call for immediate measures for schools and daycare centers
The call "Make education possible" by education economists has been covered by numerous media such as Spiegel online, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Die Welt, Handelsblatt, Berliner Zeitung, dpa, Deutschlandfunk, SWR aktuell, and Zeit online.
Coronomics Video Podcast
In the Coronomics Video Podcast, Ludger Woessmann talks with Ruediger Bachmann and Christian Bayer about the educational impact of the Corona crisis.
Schools in Corona stress - learning from the crisis
Ludger Woessmann in an interview in the program Zoom on ZDF television about the different ways of dealing with Corona in the different federal states.
Home schooling increases inequality in education
An article on BR24 quotes Ludger Woessmann on the danger of greater educational inequality due to the Corona crisis. This is also discussed in the program Quer and in the news program Rundschau on BR television.
Education gap due to Corona
Interviews with Ludger Woessmann on ZDFheute online and in the Tagesschau future podcast.
The socio-emotional development of children is now extremely disturbed
Interview with Ludger Woessmann in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung about the first reactions to the Corona crisis in the school system.
Falling apprenticeship places during the crisis could have fatal consequences for an entire generation
An article on Business Insider quotes Ludger Woessmann on the consequences of the Corona crisis for the apprenticeship situation in Germany.
Corona school policy fails: The school catastrophe
During the Corona-related school closures, the media repeatedly refer to the findings and contributions of the ifo Center for Economics of Education in many additional articles. Here is a selection:Zeit online, Spiegel online, Focus, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Focus, Welt am Sonntag, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, LMU-Website, Die Welt, Spiegel, Die Welt, Focus, Die Welt, Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, Die Welt.
Economic policy aspects of the Corona crisis
In its thesis paper on the economic policy aspects of the Corona crisis, the Scientific Advisory Council at the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy, with the participation of Ludger Woessmann, also addresses the effects of school closures.
First 12 months with mum: Will you be happier later on?
Larissa Zierow in the DIAL Podcast about her study on the effects of longer parental leave in the GDR.
It's not all because of socialism
In a guest article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Sascha Becker, Lukas Mergele, and Ludger Woessmann report on their research that differences between East and West Germany are older than the GDR.
|
|
Articles in refereed journals
Sascha O. Becker, Lukas Mergele und Ludger Woessmann, "The Separation and Reunification of Germany: Rethinking a Natural Experiment Interpretation of the Enduring Effects of Communism", Journal of Economic Perspectives 34 (2): 143-171, 2020.
Parampreet Christopher Bindra, Daniela Glätzle-Rützler und Philipp Lergetporer,
"Discrimination at Young Age: Experimental Evidence from Preschool Children", Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 175: 55-70, 2020.
Maria Cattaneo, Philipp Lergetporer, Guido Schwerdt, Katharina Werner, Ludger Woessmann und Stefan C. Wolter,
"Information Provision and Preferences for Education Spending: Evidence from Representative Survey Experiments in three Countries", European Journal of Political Economy 63: 101876, 2020.
Working papers
Franziska Hampf, Marc Piopiunik and Simon Wiederhold, "The Effects of Graduating from High School in a Recession: College Investments, Skill Formation, and Labor-Market Outcomes", CESifo Working Paper No. 8252, April 2020.
Further articles
Sascha O. Becker, Lukas Mergele and Ludger Woessmann, "Die deutsche Teilung und Wiedervereinigung und die
'Auswirkungen' des Kommunismus", ifo Schnelldienst 73 (5): 48-51, 2020.
Sascha O. Becker, Lukas Mergele and Ludger Woessmann, "German division and reunification and the
'effects' of communism", Vox, 5.4.2020.
Alexander M. Danzer, Natalia Danzer, Christina Felfe de Ormeno, Katharina Spieß, Simon Wiederhold and Ludger Woessmann,
"Bildung ermöglichen! Unterricht und frühkindliches Lernen trotz teilgeschlossener Schulen und Kitas", Bildungsökonomischer Aufruf, 3.5.2020.
Expert Council on Education,
"Bildung zu demokratischer Kompetenz", Münster: Waxmann, 2020.
Katharina Heisig and Larissa Zierow, "Elternzeitverlängerung in der DDR: Langfristig höhere Lebenszufriedenheit der Kinder", ifo Dresden berichtet, 27, Nr. 2: 07-09, 2020.
Guido Schwerdt and Ludger Woessmann, "Empirical Methods in the Economics of Education", in: S. Bradley, C. Green (Hrsg.), The Economics of Education: A Comprehensive Overview, Second Edition, London: Academic Press/Elsevier, 3-20, 2020.
Scientific Advisory Council, Wirtschaftspolitische Aspekte der Corona-Krise. Berlin: BMWi, 2020.
Ludger Woessmann, "Follow-up Costs of Not Learning: What We Can Learn from Research on Coronavirus-Related School Closures", ifo Schnelldienst 73 (6): 38-44, 2020.
Ludger Woessmann, "Kompletten Lernstopp verhindern", Wirtschaftsdienst 100 (4), 2020.
|
|
After successfully completing her doctorate, Franziska Hampf left the ifo Center for the Economics of Education to take up a position at ERGO Mobility Solutions. All the best for her new position!
After completing her Master's degree at the Vienna University for Economics and Business, Sarah Gust joined the ifo Center for the Economics of Education in mid June. At the beginning of May, Vera Freundl started as a research specialist at the ifo Center for the Economics of Education. A warm welcome!
At the beginning of June, Franziska Kugler went on parental leave.
|
|
Dear readers,
We have always treated your data confidentially in the past, only using it for the purpose that you expressly consented to. We would like to continue to send you information on the activities of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education in the future. Your personal data (email address and, in some cases, your first name and surname) are only used for the purpose specified above. We do not share your data with third parties under any circumstances. If you wish to continue receiving information from us, then you do not need to take any further action. Should you wish to restrict or deny us the right to use your personal data in the future, please click here
Our warmest thanks for your support and your interest in the work of the ifo Center for the Ecomonics of Education!
|
|
|
|
|
|
