Language skills and educational success of immigrant children
Does a high regional concentration of immigrants of the same country of origin affect immigrant children's acquisition of host-country language skills and educational attainment? In a study just published in the Journal of Population Economics, Alexander Danzer and Carsten Feuerbaum from the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt and Marc Piopiunik and Ludger Woessmann from the ifo Center for the Economics of Education investigate the concentration of guest workers emanating from their exogenous placement across German regions during the 1960s/70s. Results suggest that a high own-ethnic concentration increases school dropout and impairs immigrant children's host-country language proficiency. A key mediating factor for the detrimental language effect is parents' lower speaking proficiency in German. more...
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The costs of canceling Darwin
Evolution theory is both foundational to modern science and controversial among the U.S. population. There is substantial variation across U.S. states in how evolution is covered in high school. Benjamin Arold from the ifo Center for the Economics of Education investigates how lessons on evolution theory shape students' knowledge about and attitudes towards science. He describes his findings in a non-technical contribution in Education Next: More comprehensive evolution instruction leads to a better knowledge about evolution at the end of schooling. In adulthood, being from a state that requires comprehensive evolution instruction (as opposed to no evolution instruction) increases evolution approval by 33 percentage points. Moreover, it boosts the probability of working in life sciences later on. more...
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Education and resilience
Resilience refers to the ability to not only recover in the face of disruptive or continuous stressors but to grow from them. However, the Covid-19 pandemic revealed that the German education system is not well prepared for crises. How can the resilience of educators and learners be strengthened? Which reforms can effectively help achieve good educational outcomes even in times of crisis? Based on an empirically validated stocktaking, the Expert Council on Education, with the participation of Ludger Woessmann from the ifo Center for the Economics of Education, derives recommendations for action for resilient individuals and a resilient education system for the different phases of education. more...
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The future of work in the digital transformation
The digital transformation poses major challenges for the German labor market. If supplied and demanded skills diverge too much, a shortage of skilled workers can coexist with sustained unemployment. In a new report to which Ludger Woessmann contributed, the Scientific Advisory Council at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action recommends a comprehensive reform of continuing training. To facilitate retraining and enable people to obtain educational certificates with strong signals even at an advanced age, a continuing education system based on the dual training system should be established. The sometimes confusing subsidy system for in-company continuing education should be simplified and a legal right to continuing education should be examined. Germany also needs to catch up on the world leaders in key digital technologies. more...
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The basic skills gap prevents sustainable development
Economic development depends on the skills of each society. Skill differences can in fact account for three-quarters of the cross-country variation in long-run economic growth. In the Finance & Development magazine of the International Monetary Fund, Eric Hanushek from Stanford University and Ludger Woessmann from the ifo Center for the Economics of Education argue that reaching global universal basic skills is therefore crucial to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The relevant skills are captured well by international student achievement tests in math and science. But the deficits are large, and recent events such as the Covid-19 crisis have not improved the chances for success. more...
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IN THE INTERNATIONAL NEWS
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For school and economic power
In connection with the Atelier Maurice Allais in Paris, an article in l'Opinion reports on Ludger Woessmann's research on the importance of education for economic growth.
A decline in belief but not in morals
Article in the Guardian about the study by the ifo Center for the Economics of Education which examines the effects of abolishing compulsory religious education in Germany.
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School reforms - what went well, what can be done better
In connection with the EffEE Conference, Larissa Zierow talks about the evaluation and effectiveness of school reforms in an interview on Campus Schulmanagement.
School performance in decline
Interview with Ludger Woessmann on Campus Schulmanagement on the downward trend of student performance in Germany.
College or apprenticeship - what is most worthwhile for you financially
In the podcast "Economy Explained Simply" by Orange by Handelsblatt, Ludger Woessmann talks to Juliane Heßmann about returns on education. The episode can be listened to on Spotify, Youtube, and Handelsblatt.
Paying for college? But in the right way!
Philipp Lergetporer and Ludger Woessmann argue in the blog "The Economic View" of the Austrian Economic Association why both efficiency and equity aspects speak for deferred income-contingent tuition fees.
When the doctor's assistant finances the doctor's daughter
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung quotes Ludger Woessmann on research on deferred income-contingent tuition fees and educational equity.
How Ukrainian refugees can be integrated
In the WirtschaftsWoche, Ludger Woessmann argues for a rapid integration of Ukrainian refugees into the German educational landscape to enable children to pursue activities beyond their traumatizing experiences.
The incapacity of Germany's schools
An article in Die Welt on the report by the Expert Council on Education points to a lack of resilience of the German school system and refers to a study by the ifo Center for the Economics of Education.
The education system must become crisis-proof
The report of the Expert Council on Education is also covered by sueddeutsche.de and many other newspapers and radio stations.
Digitized away and unemployed? Habeck's advisors call for new continuing education system
The Handelsblatt reports on the proposal for a new continuing education system in the report by the Scientific Advisory Council at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. The report is also covered by faz.net, the taz, and dpa, among others.
Mentoring programs improve labor market opportunities for disadvantaged adolescents
The Augsburger Allgemeine reports on the study by the ifo Center for the Economics of Education which evaluates the benefits of a mentoring program. sueddeutsche.de also refers to the study. A further article in the Augsburger Allgemeine refers to the study by the ifo Center for the Economics of Education on the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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SELECTED EVENTS AND PRESENTATIONS
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7th Dortmund Symposium of Empirical Educational Research
The Center for Research on Education and School Development (IFS) at TU Dortmund organizes the 7th Dortmund Symposium of Empirical Educational Research on June 23, 2022. It is devoted to the topic "Evaluation of the Education System: What Insights Do Current School Performance Studies Provide?" Ludger Woessmann will deliver the keynote.
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Economic Policy Forum of the Protestant Academy Frankfurt
Larissa Zierow spoke about the resilience of the education system at the Economic Policy Forum "The Economic View on Education" of the Protestant Academy Frankfurt on April 4, 2022. In the podcast, you can listen to the discussion of Larissa Zierow, Manuel Lösel, and Gerrit Ulmke.
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Ateliers Maurice Allais 2022
Ludger Woessmann gave a presentation on "The Knowledge Capital of Nations: Education and the Economics of Growth" at the Atelier Maurice Allais in Paris on June 3, 2022.
Training Seminar "Current Issues in Economic and Social Policy"
At the teacher training seminar of the Academy for Political Education Tutzing from May 30 to June 3, 2022, Larissa Zierow presented the topic "Economics of Education and the Educational Landscape post-Corona".
Conferences and Workshops
The researchers of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education presented their research at various conferences and workshops, such as the 35th Annual Conference of the European Society for Population Economics, the 12th International Workshop on Applied Economics of Education, the Workshop "Program Evaluation and Individual Outcomes" at the Collegio Carlo Alberto in Turin, the Synapse Lab Seminar at the University of Stavanger, the Economics of Education Committee of the German Economic Association and the Empirical PhD Student Workshop of the University of Munich.
PhD Course at the University of Zurich
From May 9-12, 2022, Ludger Woessmann gave a PhD Course on "Microeconomic Foundations of Economics of Education" at the Swiss Leading House VPET-ECON at the University of Zurich.
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Articles in refereed journals
Alexander M. Danzer, Carsten Feuerbaum, Marc Piopiunik, and Ludger Woessmann, "Growing up in Ethnic Enclaves: Language Proficiency and Educational Attainment of Immigrant Children", Journal of Population Economics 35, 1297-1344, 2022.
Monographes
Advisory Council at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, "Die Zukunft der Arbeit in der digitalen Transformation", Berlin: BMWi, 2022.
Expert Council on Education, "Bildung und Resilienz", Münster: Waxmann, 2022.
Further articles
Benjamin Arold, "The Costs of Canceling Darwin", Education Next, 05 April 2022.
Benjamin Arold, Ludger Woessmann, and Larissa Zierow, "Religious Education in School Affects Students' Lives in the Long Run", CESifo Forum 23(3), 40-43, 2022.
Paul David Boll, Lukas Mergele, and Larissa Zierow, "Die Lohnlücke zwischen Frauen und Männern besteht bereits vor Abschluss des Studiums", ifo Schnelldienst 75(4), 66-59, 2022.
Paul David Boll, Lukas Mergele, and Larissa Zierow, "Der Gender Pay Gap bei Studierenden", Ökonomenstimme, 02 June 2022.
Vera Freundl and Katharina Wedel, "How Does Instruction Time Affect Student Achievement? The Moderating Role of Teacher Qualifications", CESifo Forum 23(3), 33-39, 2022.
Eric A. Hanushek and Ludger Woessmann, "The Basic Skills Gap", Finance & Development 59(2), 50-53, 2022.
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Sven Resnjanskij left the ifo Center for the Economics of Education after six years as a postdoc. Many thanks for all your achievements, and all the best for the future!
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