How religion influences economic growth
Which role does religion play in economic growth? Ludger Woessmann from the ifo Center for the Economics of Education, Sascha Becker from Monash University, and Jared Rubin from Chapman University use the elements of a macroeconomic production function – physical capital, human capital, labor, and technology – together with standard growth models to answer this question. In their new paper, which is forthcoming in the Journal of Economic Literature, they unify a growing literature. They argue that religion can enhance or hinder economic growth through all four elements because it shapes individual preferences, societal norms, and institutions. For instance, religion affects human capital through religious and secular education. more...
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How testing regimes affect student achievement
Different testing regimes have varying effects on student achievement. This is what Ludger Woessmann from the ifo Center for the Economics of Education, Eric Hanushek from Stanford University, and Annika Bergbauer find in their paper, which has just been published in the Journal of Human Resources. They use international PISA data for two million students in 59 countries from 2000 to 2015. In countries with low or medium levels of student achievement, more standardized testing is associated with higher student achievement, while added internal reporting and teacher monitoring are not. In high-performing countries, increased internal standardized testing and teacher monitoring appears to be harmful to student achievement. more...
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Lack of basic skills inhibits world development
For world development, it is essential that all children obtain at least basic skills. In their new paper published in the Journal of Development Economics, Sarah Gust and Ludger Woessmann from the ifo Center for the Economics of Education, and Eric Hanushek from Stanford University show that the world is a long way from achieving this goal: At least two-thirds of the world's youth do not reach basic skill levels, ranging from 24% in North America and the European Union to 89% in South Asia and 94% in Sub-Saharan Africa. The present value of lost world economic output due
to a lack of global universal basic skills amounts to over $700 trillion or 12% of discounted GDP. Paper... Summary (in German)...
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Invitation letters increase course participation of late-enrolling students
Can information provision increase incoming university students' attendance in a voluntary remedial math course? In his new paper published in Education Finance and Policy, Raphael Brade from the ifo Center for the Economics of Education investigates this question. In a field experiment, randomly selected first-year students receive an invitation letter either with or without information about a past sign-up rate for the course. Overall, the letter has no effect on course participation. However, both the letter with and without information increase the attendance of students who enrolled late in their study program. This improves their academic performance in the first year and closes the achievement gap to early enrollees. more...
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The legacy of Covid-19 in education
Which legacy do the Covid-19-induced school closures and social distancing experiences have on children's skill development? In their study now published in the journal Economic Policy, Katharina Werner and Ludger Woessmann from the ifo Center for the Economics of Education address this question. Their parental survey during the second German school lockdown provides new measures of socio-emotional development and panel evidence on how students' time use and educational inputs adapted over time. Children's learning time decreased severely during the first school closures, particularly for low-achieving students, and increased only slightly one year later. They conclude that, unless remediated, the school closures will persistently increase inequality and reduce skill development, lifetime income, and economic growth. more...
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Germans support experimental evaluation of educational reforms
Should educational reforms be tested in advance at a small scale using experiments before enacting them at a large scale? Based on a representative survey in Germany, Katharina Werner from the ifo Center for the Economics of Education, Philipp Lergetporer and Helen Zeidler from TU Munich, Mira Fischer from the Berlin Social Science Center (WZB), and Elisabeth Grewenig from KfW find that a majority of three quarters are in favor of experimental policy evaluations. The study has recently been published in the journal Economics Letters. Whether or not the evaluations are explicitly described as "experiments" has no effect on public support. Thus, there seems to be political leeway for the experimental evaluation of policies in Germany. more...
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Information provision on automatability of occupations increases willingness to train
Employees in Germany on average underestimate the automatability of their occupation, especially those in high-automatability occupations. This is shown in a new CESifo Working Paper by Katharina Wedel and Katharina Werner from the ifo Center for the Economics of Education, and Philipp Lergetporer from TU Munich. The randomized provision of information about their occupations' automatability increases employees' concerns about their professional future, and expectations about future changes in their work environment. The information also increases willingness to participate in further training, especially among people in highly automatable occupations. This uptick narrows the gap in willingness to attend further training between employees in occupations with high and low automatability by 95.5%, and even completely closes the gap in willingness to retrain. Working Paper... Summary (in German)...
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IN THE INTERNATIONAL NEWS
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"We shouldn't create a cuddly environment in schools"
Ludger Woessmann in an interview with the Austrian newspaper Die Presse on the negative trend in German student achievement and the consequences that may follow.
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A world unprepared: Missing skills for development
Article by Sarah Gust, Ludger Woessmann, and Eric Hanushek on VoxDev on global basic skill deficits. The American Enterprise Institut also refers to their study on this topic.
Mentoring improves the school-to-work transition of disadvantaged adolescents
In an article on VoxEU, Katharina Wedel, Ludger Woessmann, Sven Resnjanskij, Jens Ruhose, and Simon Wiederhold report on the results of the evaluation of the mentoring program "Rock Your Life!".
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Immigrant students detrimentally affected by low-performing peers
ZEIT Online, Spiegel, Tagesspiegel, and BildungsKlick report on the study by Caterina Pavese and Elena Meschi on the influence of the ability composition of a class on immigrant children.
"I would raise the entry barriers"
The Zeitschrift für Pädagogik asks Ludger Woessmann nine questions in an educational portrait.
Billion-euro program to promote educational opportunities for socially disadvantaged children
Handelsblatt quotes Ludger Woessmann on the "Starting Opportunities" program. Another article in Handelsblatt also takes up his opinion.
Better dress up as a billionaire for carnival, child!
Spiegel refers to a study by Ludger Woessmann and Eric Hanushek on the advantages of later school tracking.
Do private schools harm the education system?
Handelsblatt quotes Ludger Woessmann on the competition between private and public schools.
Computer science, finance or happiness: What should German students learn?
Ludger Woessmann is quoted in Tagesspiegel and the Wiarda blog on the topic of "democracy education".
What must now follow from PISA 2022
Ludger Woessmann's comments on the current PISA results and the importance of education are taken up by RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland. FocusOnline, n-tv, and RP Online refer to his calculations on student performance and economic growth in this context.
How important parents' income is
Deutschlandfunk and Bild report on the results of the Opportunity Monitor of ifo and "A Heart for Children".
Cause for concern? Reading skills decline drastically in Bavaria
The Münchner Abendzeitung refers to the results of the ifo Education Survey 2023.
How the data explains the PISA debacle
N-tv refers to a study by the ifo Center for the Economics of Education on school closures during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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SELECTED EVENTS AND PRESENTATIONS
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Call for Papers: CESifo Area Conference on Economics of Education
From September 13-14, 2024, the CESifo Area Conference on Economics of Education 2024 will take place at the ifo Institute in Munich. Matthias Doepke (London School of Economics) will be keynote speaker. Here you can find the Call for Papers.
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Call for Papers: 2nd CESifo/ifo Junior Workshop on the Economics of Education
The 2nd CESifo/ifo Junior Workshop on the Economics of Education will take place in Munich on April 16-17, 2024. It is aimed at PhD students towards the end of their PhD phase and Postdocs within one year of their PhD completion. Keynote speeches will be delivered by Camille Terrier (Queen Mary University London) and Petter Lundborg (Lund University).
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Presentation "Ensuring equal opportunities for all children - current overview based on statistical surveys"
Ludger Woessmann presented the results of the Opportunity Monitor of ifo and "A Heart for Children" at an expert discussion of the Children's Commission of the German Bundestag.
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Articles in refereed journals
Becker, S. O., J. Rubin, and L. Woessmann, "Religion and Growth", Journal of Economic Literature, forthcoming.
Bergbauer, A. B., E. A. Hanushek, and L. Woessmann, "Testing", Journal of Human Resources 59 (2), 349-388, 2024.
Brade, R., "Social Information and Educational Investment – Nudging Remedial Math Course Participation", Education Finance and Policy 19 (1), 106-142, 2024.
Fischer, M., E. Grewenig, P. Lergetporer, K. Werner, and H. Zeidler, "The E-Word – On the Public Acceptance of Experiments", Economics Letters 235, 111558, 2024.
Gust, S. , E. A. Hanushek, and L. Woessmann, "Global Universal Basic Skills: Current Deficits and Implications for World Development", Journal of Development Economics 166, 103205, 2024.
Resnjanskij, S., J. Ruhose, S. Wiederhold, L. Woessmann, and K. Wedel, "Can Mentoring Alleviate Family Disadvantage in Adolescence? A Field Experiment to Improve Labor Market Prospects", Journal of Political Economy 132 (3), 1013-1062, 2024.
Werner, K. and L. Woessmann, "The Legacy of Covid-19 in Education", Economic Policy 38 (115), 609-668, 2023.
Working Papers
Lergetporer, P., K. Wedel, and K. Werner, "Automatability of Occupations, Workers' Labor-Market Expectations, and Willingness to Train", CESifo Working Paper 10862, 2023.
Further articles
Freundl, V., P. Lergetporer, K. Wedel, and K. Werner, "Informationsbereitstellung zur Automatisierbarkeit von Berufen erhöht Weiterbildungsbereitschaft", ifo Schnelldienst 77 (3), 39-43, 2024.
Gust, S., E. A. Hanushek, and L. Woessmann, "Globale Bildungsdefizite: Wie fehlende Grundkompetenzen Entwicklungschancen hemmen", ifo Schnelldienst 77 (1), 31-34, 2024.
Gust, S., E. A. Hanushek, and L. Woessmann, "A World Unprepared: Missing Skills for Development", VoxDev, 24.11.2023.
Resnjanskij, S., J. Ruhose, K. Wedel, S. Wiederhold, and L. Woessmann, "Mentoring Improves the School-to-work Transition of Disadvantaged Adolescents", EconPol Forum 25 (1), 25-28, 2024 / VoxEU Column, 17.12.2023.
Seebacher, M., "Wie Fahrräder die Bildungschancen von Mädchen in Entwicklungsländern verbessern können", ifo Schnelldienst 77 (3), 33-38, 2024.
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As part of his sabbatical during the summer semester, Ludger Woessmann visited Monash University and the Melbourne Institute at the University of Melbourne in February/March.
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