News 2021

December 2021

Paper on Fundamental Role of Patience and Risk-Taking for International Student Achievement Forthcoming in Economic Journal

Patience and risk-taking – two preference components that steer intertemporal decision-making – are fundamental to human capital investment decisions. To understand how they contribute to international skill differences, we combine PISA tests with the Global Preference Survey. We find that opposing effects of patience (positive) and risk-taking (negative) together account for two-thirds of the cross-country variation in student skills. In an identification strategy addressing unobserved residence-country features, we find similar results when assigning migrant students their country-of-origin preferences in models with residence-country fixed effects. Associations of national preferences with family and school inputs suggest that both may act as channels.

Patience, Risk-Taking, and Human Capital Investment across Countries (with E.A. Hanushek, L. Kinne, and P. Lergetporer). Economic Journal, forthcoming [tweet]

New Newsletter 4/2021 of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education Has Been Published

November 2021

Interview on wiwo.de on the Consequences of School Closures

Lockdown für Erwachsene, bevor die Schulen schließen. wiwo.de, 24.11.2021

"Testing" Paper to Be Published in the Journal of Human Resources

The significant expansion of student testing has not generally been linked to educational outcomes. We investigate how different testing regimes – providing varying information to parents, teachers, and decision makers – relate to student achievement. We exploit PISA data for two million students in 59 countries observed from 2000-2015. Removing country and year fixed effects, we investigate how testing reforms affect country performance. In low- and medium-performing countries, more standardized testing is associated with higher student achievement, while added internal reporting and teacher monitoring are not. But in high-performing countries expansion of standardized internal testing and teacher monitoring appears harmful.

Testing (with A.B. Bergbauer and E.A. Hanushek). Journal of Human Resources, forthcoming [tweet] [video]

Policy Brief on the Legacy of the Covid-19 Pandemic in Children’s Skill Development

Will the Covid-19 Pandemic Leave a Lasting Legacy in Children’s Skill Development? (with K. Werner). CESifo Forum 22 (6): 33-40, 2021

Chapter in the International Handbook of Comparative Large-Scale Studies in Education

Economic theory suggests that the skills of a society’s population are important determinants of economic growth. International large-scale assessments (ILSAs) have been used to put these theories to an empirical test. Our chapter in the International Handbook of Comparative Large-Scale Studies in Education provides an overview of models of the role of educational achievement in macroeconomic outcomes and summarizes empirical economic work using ILSAs to measure relevant skills. In economic terms, the aggregate cognitive skills of the population as measured by ILSAs can be interpreted as the knowledge capital of nations. The chapter concludes that there is strong evidence that the cognitive skills of the population – rather than mere school attainment – are powerfully related to long-run economic growth. 

The Political Economy of ILSAs in Education: The Role of Knowledge Capital in Economic Growth (with E.A. Hanushek). In: T. Nilsen, A. Stancel-Piątak, J.-E. Gustafsson (eds.), International Handbook of Comparative Large-Scale Studies in Education, Springer International Handbooks of Education. Cham: Springer, 2021

October 2021

New Working Paper: The Legacy of Covid-19 in Education

If school closures and social-distancing experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic impeded children’s skill development, they may leave a lasting legacy in human capital. To understand the pandemic’s effects on school children, this paper combines a review of the emerging international literature with new evidence from German longitudinal time-use surveys. Based on the conceptual framework of an education production function, we cover evidence on child, parent, and school inputs and students’ cognitive and socio-emotional development. The German panel evidence shows that children’s learning time decreased severely during the first school closures, particularly for low-achieving students, and increased only slightly one year later. In a value-added model, learning time increases with daily online class instruction, but not with other school activities. The review shows substantial losses in cognitive skills on achievement tests, particularly for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Socio-emotional wellbeing also declined in the short run. Structural models and reduced-form projections suggest that unless remediated, the school closures will persistently reduce skill development, lifetime income, and economic growth and increase inequality.

The Legacy of Covid-19 in Education (with K. Werner). CESifo Working Paper 9358 / IZA Discussion Paper 14796, October 2021 [tweet]

Paper on Covid-19 and Educational Inequality Published in the European Economic Review

In spring 2020, governments around the globe shut down schools to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus. In a paper that has just been published in the European Economic Review, we argue that low-achieving students may be particularly affected by the lack of educator support during school closures. We collect detailed time-use information on students before and during the school closures in a survey of 1,099 parents in Germany. We find that while students on average reduced their daily learning time of 7.4 hours by about half, the reduction was significantly larger for low-achievers (4.1 hours) than for high-achievers (3.7 hours). Low-achievers disproportionately replaced learning time with detrimental activities such as TV or computer games rather than with activities more conducive to child development. The learning gap was not compensated by parents or schools who provided less support for low-achieving students. 

COVID-19 and Educational Inequality: How School Closures Affect Low- and High-Achieving Students (with E. Grewenig, P. Lergetporer, K. Werner, and L. Zierow). European Economic Review 140: 103920, 2021 [tweet] [video]

September 2021

Two PISA Papers Just Accepted for Publication in Economic Journal and Journal of Human Resources!

Patience, Risk-Taking, and Human Capital Investment across Countries (with E.A. Hanushek, L. Kinne, and P. Lergetporer). Economic Journal, forthcoming [tweet]

Testing (with A.B. Bergbauer and E.A. Hanushek). Journal of Human Resources, forthcoming [tweet]

New Newsletter 3/2021 of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education Has Been Published

Paper in Psychologie in Erziehung und Unterricht on School Children during the Pandemic

To learn how school children spent the two periods of Corona-related school closures in spring 2020 and early 2021, we surveyed over 1’000 parents in June 2020 and over 2’000 parents in February / March 2021. During the school closures in early 2021, school children spent an average of 4.3 hours per day on school-related activities. This is almost three-quarters of an hour more than during the initial school closures in spring 2020, but three hours less than during a typical school day before the COVID-19-pandemic. Our time-use surveys find that school children spent more time each day watching TV, playing computer games, and using their cell phones than learning for school. The share of students who had daily online instruction for the whole class (e. g., via video) increased from 6 percent in spring 2020 to 26 percent in early 2021. However, 39 percent of students continued to have such online classes at most once a week. The surveys furthermore include assessments of the effectiveness of learning at home, mental stress, physical inactivity, social skills, independent learning, and digital literacy. The results are also examined for differences by academic achievement and family background.

Die Situation der Schulkinder während der Schulschließungen in der Pandemie: Ergebnisse zweier Elternbefragungen (with L. Zierow). Psychologie in Erziehung und Unterricht 68 (4): 297-305, 2021

August 2021

Article in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Economics and Finance

Economic growth determines the future well-being of society, but finding ways to influence it has eluded many nations. In an article published in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Economics and Finance, we document that empirical analysis of differences in growth rates reaches a simple conclusion: long-run growth in gross domestic product (GDP) is largely determined by the skills of a nation’s population. Moreover, the relevant skills can be readily gauged by standardized tests of cognitive achievement. Over the period 1960–2000, three-quarters of the variation in growth of GDP per capita across countries can be accounted for by international measures of math and science skills. The relationship between aggregate cognitive skills, called the knowledge capital of a nation, and the long-run growth rate is extraordinarily strong.

Education and Economic Growth (with E.A. Hanushek). In: Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Economics and Finance. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021

ifo Education Survey 2021: Education Policies to Address Societal Challenges during and after Covid-19

The ifo Education Survey 2021 surveyed more than 4,000 adults to find out which education policy measures they favor to address the societal challenges revealed in the Corona pandemic. The first section focuses on measures to mitigate Corona-related learning deficits. Large majorities favor mandatory online instruction during school closures (74%) and more intensive tutoring for children from difficult social backgrounds (83%). Overall, the assessment of the Corona school policy is quite negative, especially with regard to the treatment of disadvantaged students. Especially for these schoolchildren, remedial and vacation courses are majority favors. 77% of the respondents are in favor of mandatory use of computers in schools even after the end of the pandemic. In the second part, we address challenges for society as a whole beyond the learning backlog. Overwhelming majorities (over 75%) are in favor of teaching democratic, scientific and economic skills in secondary schools. Large majorities are also in favor of transnational educational standards and regular comparative tests for these fundamental social competencies, as well as corresponding mandatory training for teachers and continuing education opportunities for all citizens. Selected media coverage includes spiegel.de, zeit.de, handelsblatt.com, deutschlandfunk.de, and nzz.ch. The press conference is available here. 

Bildungspolitik zur Bewältigung gesellschaftlicher Herausforderungen während und nach Corona – Ergebnisse des ifo Bildungsbarometers 2021 (with V. Freundl, E. Grewenig, P. Lergetporer, and K. Werner). ifo Schnelldienst 74 (9): 27-40, 2021

Article in impaktmagazin Spezial on Federal Election

Corona und die Folgen: Eine (nicht nur) bildungsökonomische Perspektive. impaktmagazin Spezial, pp. 20-39, 2021

July 2021

Interview on the Covid-19 Report of the National Academy of Sciences

Die Bildungskrise aufarbeiten. Wiarda Blog, 29.7.2021

Wir brauchen Mentoring-Programme. fluter.de, 20.7.2021

Report of the National Academy of Sciences: Economic Consequences of the Coronavirus Pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic poses new challenges for economic and social policy in the medium and long term and exacerbates pre-existing problems. In four thematic blocks, the statement of the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina first presents diagnoses of the status quo and then derives options for political action. 1 Structural change and economic growth: Under what conditions can existing growth potential be leveraged? 2. Distribution and inequality: how can decision-makers act in the areas of education and training, gender equality and social security? 3. Performance of state institutions: What are the causes of their limitations, and how can they be addressed? 4. Sustainability of public finances: What are the options for reforming national debt, and how relevant are municipal finance and post-pandemic investment? 

Ökonomische Konsequenzen der Coronavirus-Pandemie – Diagnosen und Handlungsoptionen. Stellungnahme der Nationalen Akademie der Wissenschaften Leopoldina. Halle: Leopoldina, 2021

Two Articles on Covid-19 and Education

Coronabedingte Schulschließungen und Bildungsgerechtigkeit (with L. Zierow). Deutschland & Europa 38 (81): 70-75, 2021

Priorität für Bildung. frei.hessen 1/2021: 16-17, 2021

June 2021

New Newsletter 2/2021 of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education Has Been Published

Federal Funding for Education Should Be Tied to Reforms for Effective Use: Contribution to ifo Series on Next Legislative Period

My contribution to the ifo series "Economic policy requirements for the upcoming legislative period": Education has proven crucial for the future prosperity of individuals and societies. The federal government should invest additional funds in digitization and support measures for disadvantaged children. To achieve better educational outcomes with the funds, they should be linked to further reforms. National interim and final examinations as well as structural reforms in the federal system and simplified administrative processes that define responsibilities more clearly would help to use resources more effectively. Beyond the school system, reforms should aim at making vocational education adaptable, expanding higher education funding through deferred income-contingent tuition, and increasing the supply of clearly certified continuing education.

Bildung für Wirtschaftswachstum und Chancengleichheit. ifo Schnelldienst 74 (7), 2021

Economica Paper Is Published

Does Ignorance of Economic Returns and Costs Explain the Educational Aspiration Gap? Representative Evidence from Adults and Adolescents (with P. Lergetporer and K. Werner). Economica 88 (351): 624-670, 2021 [tweet]

May 2021

Informing about the University Earnings Premium Raises Support for Tuition: New Working Paper

Higher education finance depends on the public’s preferences for charging tuition, which may be partly based on beliefs about the university earnings premium. To test whether public support for tuition depends on earnings information, we devise survey experiments in representative samples of the German electorate (N>15,000). The electorate is divided, with a plurality opposing tuition. Providing information on the university earnings premium raises support for tuition by 7 percentage points, turning the plurality in favor. The opposition-reducing effect persists two weeks after treatment. Information on fiscal costs and unequal access does not affect public preferences. We subject the baseline result to various experimental tests of replicability, robustness, heterogeneity, and consequentiality. 

Earnings Information and Public Preferences for University Tuition: Evidence from Representative Experiments (with P. Lergetporer). CESifo Working Paper 9102 / IZA Discussion Paper 14386, May 2021 [tweet]

Post in the Political Economy Blog about Prioritizing Children and Youth in Corona Politics

Kinder und Jugendliche müssen endlich Priorität haben. Blog politische Ökonomie, 17.5.2021

Article in the "Speakers' Corner" of Welt on Corona School Policy

Der Politik scheint die Zukunft einer ganzen Schülergeneration egal. welt.de, Speakers' Corner, 11.5.2021

Public Opinion and the Political Economy of Education Policy around the World (edited with M.R. West). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2021 [tweet]

Toward a Comparative Political Economy of Education: Insights and Gaps (with M.R. West). In:  M.R. West, L. Woessmann (eds.), Public Opinion and the Political Economy of Education Policy around the World. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 3-13, 2021

Is Seeing Believing? How Americans and Germans Think about their Schools (with M.B. Henderson, P. Lergetporer, P.E. Peterson, K. Werner, and M.R. West). In:  M.R. West, L. Woessmann (eds.), Public Opinion and the Political Economy of Education Policy around the World. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 55-96, 2021

Public Opinion on Education Policy in Germany (with P. Lergetporer and K. Werner). In:  M.R. West, L. Woessmann (eds.), Public Opinion and the Political Economy of Education Policy around the World. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 205-243, 2021

New Survey: How Did School Children Spend the School Closures in Early 2021? 

We surveyed more than 2,000 parents about how school children spent the Corona-related school closures in early 2021. On average, school children spent 4.3 hours per day on school-related activities. This is nearly three-quarters of an hour more than during the first school closures in spring 2020, but still three hours less than on a typical school day before Corona. Nearly one in four children (23%) spent no more than two hours a day on learning. School children spent more time with TV, computer games, and smartphones (4.6 hours) each day than studying for school. A quarter (26%) of the students had daily joint lessons for the whole class (e.g., via video), but 39% had this only once a week at most. Since the first closures, 21% of students participated in measures such as tutoring or summer schools to catch up on missed learning. The majority of parents (56%) think that their child learns less per hour at home than in regular classes at school, 22% think the opposite. While learning time hardly differs by academic achievement and family background, lower-performing students and children without a university-educated parent learn significantly less effectively and concentrated at home. The vast majority of school children have access to computers and the internet at home for home schooling. For half of the children, the situation during the school closures was a major psychological burden - significantly more than during the initial closures (38%). Nearly one-third (31%) of parents report that their child gained weight during the Corona pandemic, e.g., due to lack of exercise. For 76% of the children, not being able to meet friends as usual was a major burden. But there are also positive aspects: The majority of parents say that the school closures have taught their child to work out subject matter independently (56%) and to handle digital technologies better (66%).

Bildung erneut im Lockdown: Wie verbrachten Schulkinder die Schulschließungen Anfang 2021? (with V. Freundl, E. Grewenig, P. Lergetporer, K. Werner, and L. Zierow). ifo Schnelldienst 74 (5): 36-52, 2021

Schulschließungen schränken die Entwicklung der Kinder ein. sueddeutsche.de, Interview am Morgen, 21.4.2021

Selected media coverage: ZDF heute; ZDF Morgenmagazin; zdf.de; tagesschau.de; BR Rundschau; 3sat nano; spiegel.de; Zeit Online; Süddeutsche Zeitung; faz.net; welt.de; handelsblatt.com; wiwo.de; dpa; Wiarda Blog; Deutschlandfunk; 3sat Kulturzeit; Welt/N24 TV; RTL Nachtjournal; Sat1 Nachrichten; Sat1 Bayern; Reuters Video; SWR, RBB, MDR TV; br.de; NDR Kultur; BR, WDR, NDR, SWR, MDR Radio; Berliner Zeitung; Hamburger Morgenpost; Stuttgarter Zeitung; Passauer Neue Presse; Augsburger Allgemeine; Rheinpfalz; bild.de; spiegel.de. 

Selected Online Discussions:

March 2021

Article in Wirtschaftsdienst Special Issue "30 Years of German Unification": It's Not All due to Socialism 

Es liegt nicht alles am Sozialismus – über Ost-West-Unterschiede und ihre Ursprünge (with S.O. Becker and L. Mergele). Wirtschaftsdienst 101 (special issue): 32-36, 2021

Information Fails to Close Educational Aspiration Gap: Paper Forthcoming in Economica

The gap in university enrollment by parental education is large and persistent in many countries. In our representative survey of German adults, 74% of university graduates, but only 36% of those without a university degree favor a university education for their children. The latter are more likely to underestimate returns and overestimate costs of university. Similarly, there is an aspiration gap of 24 percentage points between adolescents with and without university-educated parents. In a paper just accepted for publication in Economica, we find that experimental provision of general information on the returns and costs of university education indeed raises aspirations. But treatment effects are at least as strong for those with university background as for those without. Thus, if anything, the provided information widens rather than closes the aspiration gap. Differences in economic preference parameters also cannot account for the educational aspiration gap. The results cast doubt that ignorance of returns and costs among people without university background can explain the educational aspiration gap in Germany. Consequently, there seems limited scope for general information campaigns to reduce educational inequality. 

Does Ignorance of Economic Returns and Costs Explain the Educational Aspiration Gap? Representative Evidence from Adults and Adolescents (with P. Lergetporer and K. Werner). Economica 88 (351): 624-670, 2021 [tweet]

New Newsletter 1/2021 of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education Has Been Published

Editorial in Wirtschaftsdienst: Educational Losses due to Corona: How Can They Be Made up?

Bildungsverluste durch Corona: Wie lassen sie sich aufholen? Wirtschaftsdienst 101 (3): 150-151, 2021

Article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: How Religion Shaped Economic History

Wie Religion die Wirtschaftsgeschichte prägte (with S.O. Becker and J. Rubin). Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 1.3.2021, p. 16 

Selected Media Coverage on Corona and Education, January/February 2021:

Die Welt (5 January 2021), Welt am Sonntag (10 January 2021), Neue Zürcher Zeitung (11 January 2021), 3Sat nano TV Interview (13 January 2021), Wirtschaftswoche (14 January 2021), Welt/N24 TV Interview (15 January 2021), B5 aktuell Radio (15 January 2021), SWR2 Radio Interview (15 January 2021), Zeit Online/dpa (15 January 2021), Der Spiegel (16 January 2021), Wiarda Blog (20 January 2021), Die Zeit (21 January 2021), Handelsblatt (22 January 2021), spiegel.de (21 January 2021), Rheinische Post (22 January 2021), Bild.de (22 January 2021), spiegel.de (22 January 2021), Die Wet (23 January 2021), Die Presse (23 January 2021), Frankfurter Rundschau a.o. (25 January 2021), SWR Aktuell Radio Interview (25 January 2021), Zeit Online (25 January 2021), Frankfurter Rundschau, Interview (27 January 2021),  NDR Extra 3 TV (27 January 2021), merkur.de u.a. (28 January 2021),  Die Welt (29 January 2021), Focus (30 January 2021), Der Standard (1 February 2021), BR24.de (1 February 2021), B5 Aktuell Radio/Podcast (1 February 2021), cicero.de (1 February 2021), Zeit Online (3 February 2021), Servus TV Interview (3 February 2021), Arte TV (3 February 2021), focus.de (5 February 2021), Süddeutsche Zeitung (6 February 2021), B5 Campusmagazin Radio Interview (7 February 2021), Spiegel+ (8 February 2021), Tagesschau24 TV (9 February 2021), Tagesspiegel.de (10 February 2021), 3Sat Kulturzeit TV Interview (10 February 2021), Handelsblatt (12 February 2021), ZDF WISO TV Interview (15 February 2021), Die Welt (16 February 2021), Tagesspiegel (19 February 2021), Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (20 February 2021), Hamburger Abendblatt (20 February 2021), Bloomberg Opinion (20 February 2021), Welt am Sonntag (21 February 2021), 3Sat makro TV Interview (2 March 2021), Wirtschaftswoche (5 March 2021).

February 2021

New Working Paper: Mentoring Improves Labor-Market Prospects of Disadvantaged Adolescents

We study a mentoring program that aims to improve the labor-market prospects of school-attending adolescents from disadvantaged families by offering them a university-student mentor. Our RCT investigates program effectiveness on three outcome dimensions that are highly predictive of adolescents’ later labor-market success: math grades, patience/social skills, and labor-market orientation. For low-SES adolescents, the one-to-one mentoring increases a combined index of the outcomes by half a standard deviation after one year, with significant increases in each dimension. Part of the treatment effect is mediated by establishing mentors as attachment figures who provide guidance for the future. The mentoring is not effective for higher-SES adolescents. The results show that substituting lacking family support by other adults can help disadvantaged children at adolescent age. 

Can Mentoring Alleviate Family Disadvantage in Adolescence? A Field Experiment to Improve Labor-Market Prospects (with S. Resnjanskij, J. Ruhose, and S. Wiederhold). CESifo Working Paper 8870 / IZA Discussion Paper 14097, February 2021 [tweet] [video]

Mentoring Improves the Labor-Market Prospects of Disadvantaged Adolescents (with S. Resnjanskij, J. Ruhose, and S. Wiederhold). CESifo Forum 22 (4): 38-43, 2021

Mentoring verbessert die Arbeitsmarktchancen von stark benachteiligten Jugendlichen (with S. Resnjanskij, J. Ruhose, and S. Wiederhold). ifo Schnelldienst 74 (2): 31-38, 2021

Raus aus der Armutsfalle. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 4.2.2021, p. 6 

Auch bei älteren Jugendlichen kann man noch sehr viel erreichen (with E. Hahnke and S. Schabernak). impaktmagazin, 2021, pp. 20-25

Raus aus der Armutsfalle: Mentoring wirkt! Ein Podcast-Interview mit Prof. Ludger Wößmann. Rock Your Life! Podcast #059, 11.2.2021

Selected media coverage: video of the press conference; tagesschau24; Welt/N24 TV; Deutschlandfunk Campus & Karriere; Bayern 2; rbb Radio Eins; Zeit online; Business Insider; sz.de; handelsblatt,com; welt.de; B5 Campusmagazin; SWR1 Arbeitsplatz; Sonntagsblatt; Rheinpfalz; Deutschlandfunk Aus Kultur- und Sozialwissenschaften; Badische Zeitung. 

January 2021

Article in the Süddeutsche Zeitung: Patience Helps Learning 

Geduld hilft beim Lernen (with L. Kinne and P. Lergetporer). Süddeutsche Zeitung, 16.1.2021, p. 22

Article in Wirtschaftswoche: Schools Open? Schools Closed? The Difficult Balance 

Schulen auf? Schulen zu? Wirtschaftswoche, 15.1.2021, pp. 42-43

Archive

News 2020

News 2019

News 2018