International Comparative Education Policy Lab

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.