Education, economics and public policy

Technology rapidly changes the workplace and the skills demanded, making current workers less employable. One approach is to think about the kind of work that technology cannot replace. (Photo: Curt Carnemark / World Bank)  Depending on to whom you listen, automation, robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI) will either solve all our problems or end the humanContinue reading “The skills that matter in the race between education and technology”

Where to Invest the Marginal Dollar – The $5.6 Trillion Question  The returns to education are high in most countries. An additional year of schooling increases earnings by 10 percent a year (Montenegro and Patrinos 2013). At the same time, education is one of the most powerful instruments for reducing poverty and inequality, as wellContinue reading “News and Research 32”

First published on Huntington Post on 02/23/2017 The returns to education are high in most countries. An additional year of schooling increases earnings by 10 percent a year (Montenegro and Patrinos 2013). At the same time, education is one of the most powerful instruments for reducing poverty and inequality, as well as for laying theContinue reading “Where to Invest the Marginal Dollar – The $5.6 Trillion Question”

The most widespread losses and abuses in education systems occur on the front lines—teachers who are absent from their posts or who demand illegal payments for services that are legally free. In some countries teachers are absent 11 percent of the time, in others more than 20 percent, and in some regions up to 40Continue reading “Why Attract Good Teachers”

School Autonomy, Accountability and Assessment More than 124 million children in developing countries are not in school. More than 250 million children are in school but cannot read. More than 50 percent of students in middle income country could be categorized as functionally illiterate. What is the problem? The failure in the “service delivery chain”Continue reading “News and Research 29”