International Comparative Education Policy Lab
Project period: October 2021 - December 2025
Research Areas:
Tasks
Education systems around the world produce widely differing outcomes. As a result, workers enter the labor force with different skills worldwide, which has clear implications for their country’s future economic performance. Understanding what drives these differences between countries could give an indication of effective policies that could profoundly improve prosperity. Yet most education policy and the evaluation of education policy takes place on a national level only. This offers no way to explain international performance gaps.
This is where the research of the Policy Lab comes in. Its aim is to deepen and expand on previous work on international comparative education studies, particularly work on substantive differences in the institutional frameworks of education systems. The Policy Lab’s project portfolio encompasses four areas: the identification and production of high teacher quality; the interplay of schooling and immigration; the development of a transnational matrix of policy changes; and the role of intertemporal preferences of national populations such as patience and risk tolerance in educational outcomes.
Methodology
The studies involve a combination of descriptive and causal studies. In many areas, the basic comparative facts simply are not known, which is why we map out the observed patterns of differences. In other cases, it appears possible and appropriate to investigate the causal effects of alternative policies using the latest microeconometric techniques. The individual investigations are likely to involve extending and elaborating existing analytical methodologies to suit the unique situation of international comparisons.
Data and other sources
International student achievement tests such as PISA and TIMSS.
Publikationen zum Projekt
The climate in climate economics
Forthcoming
The Review of Economic Studies
Globale Bildungsdefizite: Wie fehlende Grundkompetenzen Entwicklungschancen hemmen
ifo Institut, München, 2024
ifo Schnelldienst, 2024, 77, Nr. 01, 31-34
Pathways to Progress: The Complementarity of Bicycles and Road Infrastructure for Girls’ Education
2023
Economics of Education Review 97, 1-14
Can Patience Account for Subnational Differences in Student Achievement? Regional Analysis with Facebook Interests
CESifo, Munich, 2023
CESifo Working Paper No. 10660
The Effect of Subject-Specific Teacher Qualifications on Student Science Achievement
2023
EconPol Policy Brief 51
Cognitive Skills among Adults: An Impeding Factor for Gender Convergence?
CESifo, Munich, 2023
CESifo Working Paper No. 10428
Individualism, Human Capital Formation, and Labor Market Success
CESifo, Munich, 2021
CESifo Working Paper No. 9391
Revise and resubmit, Journal of the European Economic Association
Publication
Global universal basic skills: Current deficits and implications for world development
2024
Journal of Development Economics 166, 103205
Demand or Supply? Price Adjustment Heterogeneity during the COVID-19 Pandemic
2024
International Journal of Central Banking 2024, 20 (1), 93-158
Patience, Risk-Taking, and Human Capital Investment across Countries
2022
Economic Journal 132 (646), 2290–2307
Instruction Time and Student Achievement: The Moderating Role of Teacher Qualifications
2021
Economics of Education Review 85, 102183
The Influence of Patience and Risk-Taking on International Differences in School Performance
ifo Institut, München, 2020
ifo Schnelldienst, 2020, 73, Nr. 10, 33-36
The Economic Impacts of Learning Losses
2020
OECD Education Working Papers No. 225
Culture and Student Achievement: The Intertwined Roles of Patience and Risk-Taking
2020
NBER Working Paper 27484
Information / CESifo Working Paper 8407 / IZA Discussion Paper 13453
Education, Knowledge Capital, and Economic Growth
Academic Press/Elsevier, London, 2020
in: S. Bradley, C. Green (Hrsg.), The Economics of Education: A Comprehensive Overview, Second Edition, 171-182
Long-Run Trends in the U.S. SES-Achievement Gap
CESifo, Munich, 2020
CESifo Working Paper No. 8111
Long-run Trends in the U.S. SES-Achievement Gap
2020
NBER Working Paper 26764
NBER Working Paper 26764 / CESifo Working Paper 8111 / IZA Discussion Paper 12971
A Quantitative Look at the Economic Impact of the European Union's Educational Goals
2020
Education Economics 28 (3), 225-244
The Achievement Gap Fails to Close
2019
Education Next 19 (3), 8-17
External Comparative Exams Improve Student Performance
ifo Institut, München, 2018
ifo Schnelldienst, 2018, 71, Nr. 20, 16-19
Knowledge Capital and Economic Growth
Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, 2019
Rolf Becker (ed.), Research Handbook on Sociology of Education, Chap. 25
Testing
National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, 2018
NBER Working Paper No. 24836
Information / CESifo Working Paper 7168 / IZA Discussion Paper 11683
Media
Eric A. Hanushek and Ludger Woessmann, Permanent Economic Damage from Learning Losses, National Review, 18.9.2020.
Eric A. Hanushek and Ludger Woessmann, Students Have Already Been Saddled with Economic Losses from School Closures, The Hill, 10.9.2020.
Eric A. Hanushek and Ludger Woessmann, Costs of Past and Future Learning Losses, Education Next Blog, 10.9.2020.
Ludger Woessmann, Return to In-person Schooling as Quickly as Possible, foreignpolicy.com, 5.9.2020.