Eric A. Hanushek

It Pays to Improve School Quality

In a recent paper published in EducationNext, Eric Hanushek, together with Jens Ruhose and Ludger Woessmann make the case that boosting student achievement has significant economic payoff for states. Although there is a weak link between increased spending and student achievement, the researchers have nevertheless arrayed statistical analyses to suggest that up to $76 trillion in gains in gross domestic product over the course of the lifetime of young people born this year could result. To achieve prolonged economic growth, there is no choice but to strengthen the skills of the populace.

Eric Hanushek has been a leader in the development of economic analysis of educational issues. His research spans such diverse areas as the impacts of teacher quality, high stakes accountability and class size reduction on achievement and the role of cognitive skills in international growth and development. His pioneering analysis measuring teacher quality through student achievement forms the basis for current research into the value-added of teachers and schools. His newest book, Endangering Prosperity: A Global View of the American School (2013), describes the economic implications of continued low performance of our school.

Mr Hanushek will be visiting CESifo from 30 August to 8 September. No stranger to CESifo, he is both Research Professor at the ifo Center for the Economics of Education as well as Director for the Economics of Education Area of the CESifo Research Network. He has also served on ifo's Scientific Advisory Council. His frequent visits to CESifo are aimed at increasing the interaction among researchers in the economics of education on both sides of the Atlantic. Mr Hanushek is a member of the National Academy of Education and a fellow of the International Academy of Education, the Society of Labor Economists and the American Education Research Association.

Eric Hanushek is the Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University. He is a Distinguished Graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and received his PhD in economics from MIT.