I came across this excellent review and discussion, by Andrew Leigh of economics.com.au (a great site) of a very interesting paper on education performance (by Brian Byrne of the University of New England), during the summer. Essentially, it uses that treasure trove of the social scientist – identical twins – to attempt to measure the [...]
Building a better picture of education’s role in economic development
A newly available dataset on education levels around the world from 1870 to 2010 has allowed economists to test fundamental hypotheses about economic development. This has led to fascinating insights about what causes inequality, population growth and democracy: in each case, education has played a key role. This is an optimistic message as education – unlike for example geography – can be influenced by policy choices.
Tackling the thorny issue of teachers pay
Earlier this year, I calculated average salary estimates for the public and private sectors in Ireland. The answer, that the average worker in the private sector earned €40,000 last year, almost €10,000 less than their public sector counterpart, has proved if not controversial than certainly a starting point for debate. Given some of the comments [...]
