Publications

Patience and Subnational Differences in Human Capital: Regional Analysis with Facebook Interests
(with Lavinia Kinne, Pietro Sancassani, and Ludger Woessmann). Economic Journal. forthcoming
State Differences in Pathways to School Leadership and in Achievement Growth
(with Steven G. Rivkin, Wes Austin, Bengie Chen, Dan Goldhaber, Kris Holden, Cory Koedel, Helen Ladd, Jin Luo, Eric Parsons, Gregory Phelan, Tim Sass, and Mavzuna Tureava). Economics of Education Review. forthcoming
From farm schools to city factories: Assessing the quality of Chinese rural schools
(with Le Kang, Xueying Li, and Lei Zhang). National Bureau of Economic Research, NBER WP 34005. July 2025
Out-of-School Learning: Subtitling vs. Dubbing and the Acquisition of Foreign-Language Skills
(with Frauke Baumeister and Ludger Woessmann). National Bureau of Economic Research, NBER WP 33984. July 2025
Understanding Trends in Chinese Skill Premiums, 2007-2018
(with Yuan Wang and Lei Zhang). Journal of Comparative Economics. forthcoming
What D.C. is proving about teacher salaries
(with Margaret E. Raymond). Washington Post. June 2025
Job loss is not always a disaster—but for some, it is
(with Simon Janssen, Jacob D. Light, Lisa K. Simon). IZA World of Labor. 3-June-2025
Understanding Trends in Chinese Skill Premiums, 2007-2018
(with Yuan Wang and Lei Zhang). Journal of Comparative Economics, 53 (June), 584–608. 2025
Adjusters and Casualties: The Anatomy of Labor Market Displacement
(with Simon Janssen, Jacob D. Light, and Lisa K. Simon). National Bureau of Economic Research, NBER Working Paper No. 33667. May 2025
Use it or lose it: How cognitive skills change with age
(with Lavinia Kinne, Frauke Witthoeft, Ludger Woessmann). VoxEU. April 2025
Use It or Lose It! How Age Affects Cognitive Skills
 The 74. 2025
School Finance and the Courts: Equity and Adequacy
In Douglas N. Harris (ed.). AEFP Live Handbook. March 2025
Age and Cognitive Skills: Use It or Lose It
(with Lavinia Kinne, Frauke Witthöft, and Ludger Woessmann). Science Advances, 11(10). March 5, 2025
The Power of Performance Pay: Smarter teacher retention and accelerated student achievement in Dallas
(with Minh Nguyen, Ben Ost, and Steven Rivkin). Education Next, 25(2). Spring 2025
United States: The Size and Variation of the Pandemic Learning Losses
(with Bradley Strauss). In Nuno Crato and Harry Patrinos (ed.). Improving National Education Systems After COVID-19: Moving Forward After PIRLS 2021 and PISA 2022, Springer, 189-203. 2024
Employer Learning and the Dynamics of Returns to Universities: Evidence from Chinese Elite Education during University Expansion
(with Sylvie Démurger and Lei Zhang). Economic Development and Cultural Change, 73(1), 339-379. 2024
Good Teachers Hold the Key to Learning Loss Recovery
 Education Next. September 2024
Toward a Potential Grand Bargain for the Nation
(with G. William Hoagland, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Glenn Hubbard, Maya MacGuineas, Richard V. Reeves, Robert D. Reischauer, Gerard Robinson, Isabele V. Sawhill, Diane Schanzenbach, Richard Schmalensee, Michael R. Strain, and C. Eugene Steuerle). Grand Bargain Committee. July 2024
The Lasting Impacts of Middle School Principals
(with Andrew J. Morgan, Steven G. Rivkin, Jeffrey C. Schiman, Ayman Shakeel, and Lauren Sartain). National Bureau of Economic Research, NBER Working Paper No. 32642. July 2024
Can Patience Account for Subnational Differences in Student Achievement? Regional Analysis with Facebook Interests
(with Lavinia Kinne, Pietro Sancassani, and Ludger Woessmann). Economic Journal. forthcoming
Patience and the North-South divide in student achievement in Italy and the US
(with Lavinia Kinne, Pietro Sancassani, Ludger Woessmann). EconPol Forum, 25(3), 53-56. May 2024
Contexts of Convenience: Generalizing from Published Evaluations of School Finance Policies
(with Danielle V. Handel). Evaluation Review, 48(3), 461–494. 2024
Balancing Federalism: The Impact of Decentralizing School Accountability
(with Patricia Saenz-Armstrong and Alejandra Salazar). National Bureau of Economic Research, NBER Working Paper No. 32351. April 2024
Testing
(with Annika B. Bergbauer and Ludger Woessmann). Journal of Human Resources, 59(2), 349-388. 2024
A world unprepared: Missing skills for development
(with Sarah Gust and Ludger Woessmann). EconPol Forum, 25, 43-46. March 2024
A Global Perspective on US Learning Losses
(with Bradley Strauss). Hoover Education Success Initiative. 2024
Global Universal Basic Skills: Current Deficits and Implications for World Development
(with Sarah Gust and Ludger Woessmann). Journal of Development Economics, 166, 103205. 2024
Performance Information and Personnel Decisions in the Public Sector: The Case of School Principals
(with Julie Berry Cullen, Gregory Phelan, and Steven G. Rivkin). Journal of Human Resources, 59(1). 2024
Some Evolving Issues in K–12 Education
In Michael J. Boskin (ed.). American Federalism Today: Perspectives on Political and Economic Governance, 179-202. 2024
Fixing Schools Through Finance
In Stephen L. Bowen and Margaret E. Raymond (ed.). A Nation at Risk +40, Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution, 161-179. 2023
Incidence and Outcomes of School Finance Litigation: 1968-2021
(with Matthew Joyce-Wirtz). Public Finance Review, 56(6), 741-781. 2023
Academic mobility in U.S. public schools: Evidence from nearly 3 million students
(with Wes Austin David Figlio, Dan Goldhaber, Tara Kilbride, Cory Koedel, Jaeseok Sean Lee, Jin Lou, Umut Özek, Eric Parsons, Steven G. Rivkin, Tim R. Sass, Katharine O. Strunk). Journal of Public Economics, 228, 105016. 2023
Generation Lost: The Pandemic’s Lifetime Tax
 Education Next. October 2023
Contexts of Convenience: Generalizing from Published Evaluations of School Finance Policies
(with Danielle V. Handel). National Bureau of Economic Research, NBER Working Paper No. 31653. September 2023
Handbook of the Economics of Education, Volume 7
(co-editor with Stephen J. Machin and Ludger Woessmann). Amsterdam: North Holland. 2023
U.S. School Finance: Resources and Outcomes
(with Danielle Victoria Handel) in Eric A. Hanushek, Stephen Machin and Ludger Woessmann (ed.). Handbook of the Economics of Education, Vol. 7, Amsterdam: North Holland, 143-226. 2023
Student test scores are down, and it isn’t just because of COVID shutdowns
(with David J. Armor). The Hill. July 2023
U.S. School Finance: Resources and Outcomes
(with Danielle V. Handel). Cato Research Briefs in Economic Policy. July 2023
Where STEM graduates stem from: The intergenerational transmission of comparative skill advantages
(with Babs Jacobs, Guido Schwerdt, Rolf van der Velden, Stan Vermeulen, and Simon Wiederhold). VoxEU. June 2023
Where Do STEM Graduates Stem From? The Intergenerational Transmission of Comparative Skill Advantages
(with Babs Jacobs, Guido Schwerdt, Rolf van der Velden, Stan Vermeulen, and Simon Wiederhold). National Bureau of Economic Research, NBER Working Paper No. 31186. April 2023
Employer Learning and the Dynamics of Returns to Universities: Evidence from Chinese Elite Education during University Expansion
(with Sylvie Démurger and Lei Zhang). NBER Working Paper No. 25955, National Bureau of Economic Research. Revised March 2023
Attracting and Retaining Highly Effective Educators in Hard-to-Staff Schools
(with Andrew J. Morgan, Minh Nguyen, Ben Ost, and Steven G. Rivkin). NBER Working Paper No. 31051, National Bureau of Economic Research. March 2023
The Effects of Comprehensive Educator Evaluation and Pay Reform on Achievement
(with Jin Luo, Andrew Morgan, Minh Nguyen, Ben Ost, and Steven G. Rivkin, Ayman Shakeel). National Bureau of Economic Research, NBER Working Paper No. 31073. March 2023
Handbook of the Economics of Education, Volume 6
(co-editor with Stephen J. Machin and Ludger Woessmann). Amsterdam: North Holland. 2023
U.S. School Finance: Resources and Outcomes
(with Danielle V. Handel). National Bureau of Economic Research, NBER Working Paper No. 30769. December 2022 (revised February 2023)
The Economic Cost of the Pandemic: State by State
 Hoover Education Success Initiative. 2023
A world unprepared: Missing skills for development
(with Sarah Gust and Ludger Woessmann). VoxEU. December 2022
A simple and complete solution to the learning loss problem
 Policy Brief, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, Stanford University. Nov-22
Long-run Trends in the U.S. SES-Achievement Gap
(with Paul E. Peterson, Laura M. Talpey, and Ludger Woessmann). Education Finance and Policy, 17(4), 608-640. 2022
Notes on Trends in the U.S. Income-Achievement Gap
(with Jacob Light, Paul E. Peterson, Laura M. Talpey, and Ludger Woessmann). (web publication). Jun-22