News

September 2026

Op-ed in Handelsblatt on PISA Decline 

Wir brauchen einen neuen Leistungsanspruch. Handelsblatt, No. 183, 23.9.2026, p. 22

Here's How Much a Low Grade in Math Will Cost You Later in Your Salary

In its article “Here's How Much a Low Grade in Math Will Cost You Later in Your Salary,” the Bild newspaper reports on our research into the income effects of better academic performance. Woessmann: "Better academic performance which corresponds to one grade at the Gymnasium is associated with a monthly income that is about 500 euros higher later on. For other school types, the figure is around 320 euros." Werkmeister: "It’s not the grade itself that’s decisive, but the additional skills that a better grade represents. Learning more pays off later in the form of higher income." Here is the underlying calculation methodology. 

Interview in bayerische schule on Investments in the Education System

Es bringt nichts, einfach nur mehr Geld ins System zu pumpen. bayerische schule 79 (5), 2026, pp. 28-33

The Economist Covers Our Research on PISA

In its September 12, 2026, issue, The Economist covers our research findings: "At the national level, improvements in a country’s braininess appear to track closely with later bursts of economic growth; one analysis by Ludger Woessmann and Eric Hanushek, two economists, concludes that increasing PISA test scores by 25 points could push up annual GDP growth in rich countries by half a percentage point."

August 2026

Interview in Wirtschaftswoche: You Can't Do Anything without Reading and Math

Nichts geht ohne Lesen und Rechnen. Wirtschaftswoche, No. 33, 7.8.2026, pp. 30-31

Article in SchuB Magazine about our Opportunity Monitor

SchuB—the Online Magazine on Schools in the Spotlight—has published an article on the Opportunity Monitor by ifo and “A Heart for Children.”

July 2026

Lead Article on Education Focus

Investition Bildung: Bessere Bildung stärkt Chancen und Wachstum (with K. Werkmeister). Städtetag aktuell 3/2026: 4-5, 2026 

June 2026

Podcast “State of the Nation” on the Opportunity Monitor

The podcast “State of the Nation” discusses our Opportunity Monitor in detail, featuring clips of me.

May 2026

Social Media – Education – Integrity: New Report by the Expert Council on Education 

The new report by the Expert Council on Education examines the topic of social media from an educational perspective. The education system should prepare the next generation to engage with social media in a digitally competent and socially responsible manner. We refer to media integrity—the reflective and respectful interaction with one another. To ensure that children and young people can handle social media content independently and confidently and are effectively protected from the hazards of the digital world, much needs to be done at the levels of policymaking, educational institutions, teaching staff, and families. As always, we examine the topic from early childhood education to adult education.

Selected media coverage: spiegel.de, zeit.de, Bildung.Table, u.v.a.

Social Media – Bildung – Integrität. Gutachten des Aktionsrats Bildung. Münster: Waxmann, 2026

Research Insight on Religion and Economic Growth

Religion and Economic Growth: What We Know and Why It Matters (with S.O. Becker and J. Rubin). RFBerlin Research Insights 18/26, 2026

Interview on Education as a Growth Strategy in SchuB Magazine 

Lesen, Schreiben und Rechnen werden noch wichtiger. SchuB - Das Online-Magazin für Schulen im Brennpunkt, 18.5.2026

The Opportunity Monitor by ifo and “A Heart for Children”

The Opportunity Monitor by ifo and “A Heart for Children” shows that educational opportunities for children in Germany continue to depend heavily on their family background. The probability of attending a Gymnasium is 16.9% for a child whose parents do not have a high school diploma and come from the lowest income quartile without a migrant background. In contrast, it is 80.3% if the child grows up with parents who have a high school diploma, in the top income quartile, and with a migrant background. The parents’ education and income carry particularly significant weight here. Furthermore, the probability of attending a Gymnasium is 6.6 percentage points lower for boys (36.9%) than for girls (43.5%). The gender gap is present across all family background groups but is somewhat less pronounced in the highest education and income groups. Recommendations to improve opportunities for children from disadvantaged families include (1) early childhood education programs, (2) support for families, (3) high-quality teachers in schools with disadvantaged children, (4) free tutoring programs, (5) delayed school tracking, and (6) mentoring programs. Recommendations for improving opportunities for boys include (1) more male educators and teachers, (2) reflection on gender stereotypes, teaching methods, and educational approaches, (3) early promotion of reading skills and (4) self-regulation for boys, (5) parental engagement, and (6) extracurricular efforts to strengthen boys’ educational aspirations.

Selected media coverage: ZDF heute, Morgenmagazin, BR24 TV, tagesschau.de, zdfheute.de, Bild, Bild Video, Spiegel, Zeit, FAZ 1, FAZ 2, Welt, Handelsblatt, Tagesspiegel, dpa, Deutschlandfunk, BR Radio, SWR Radio, Wiarda Blog, Bildung.Table,  LinkedIn News, u.v.a. 

Der Chancenmonitor von ifo und „Ein Herz für Kinder”: Große Bildungsunterschiede nach sozialer Herkunft – Jungen seltener auf dem Gymnasium (with V. Freundl, F. Pfaehler, F. Schoner, and O. Tsaberiaba). ifo Schnelldienst digital 7 (5), 2026 [post: LinkedIn]

February 2026

Visiting Stanford University 

I am back at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University under my Distinguished Visiting Fellowship to work on a joint project with Rick Hanushek for a couple of weeks. 

January 2026

Now out in the Economic Journal: Patience and Regional Educational Achievement using Facebook Data

Decisions to invest in human capital depend on people’s time preferences. This paper shows that differences in patience are closely related to substantial subnational differences in educational achievement, leading to new perspectives on longstanding within-country disparities. We use social-media data – Facebook interests – to construct novel regional measures of patience within Italy and the United States. The approach is first validated with a cross-country analysis of patience and Facebook interests. We then show that patience is strongly positively associated with student achievement across regions in both countries, accounting for three-quarters of the achievement variation across Italian regions and one-third across U.S. states. The finding is confirmed in an identification strategy employing variation in ancestry countries of the current population of U.S. states. Results hold for six other countries with more limited regional achievement data.

Patience and Subnational Differences in Human Capital: Regional Analysis with Facebook Interests (with E.A. Hanushek, L. Kinne, and P. Sancassani). Economic Journal 136 (673): 335-350, 2026 [post: X Bluesky LinkedIn tweet1]