Publications

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. forthcoming
Contexts of Convenience: Generalizing from Published Evaluations of School Finance Policies
(with Danielle V. Handel). Evaluation Review, 48(3), June, 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), March, 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
 Hoover Education Success Initiative. 2024
Some Evolving Issues in K–12 Education
In Michael J. Boskin (ed.). American Federalism Today: Perspectives on Political and Economic Governance. 2024
Global Universal Basic Skills: Current Deficits and Implications for World Development
(with Sarah Gust and Ludger Woessmann). Journal of Development Economics, 166 (January), 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), January. 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
Academic mobility in U.S. public schools: Evidence from nearly 3 million students
(with Wes Austin, David Figlio, and others). Journal of Public Economics, 228, 105016. 2023
Patience and the North-South divide in student achievement in Italy and the US
(with Lavinia Kinne, Pietro Sancassani, Ludger Woessmann). VoxEU. October 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
Can Patience Account for Subnational Differences in Student Achievement? Regional Analysis with Facebook Interests
(with Lavinia Kinne, Pietro Sancassani, and Ludger Woessmann). National Bureau of Economic Research, NBER Working Paper No. 31690. September 2023
Incidence and Outcomes of School Finance Litigation: 1968-2021
(with Matthew Joyce-Wirtz). Public Finance Review, 56(6), November, 741-781. 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
Understanding Trends in Chinese Skill Premiums, 2007-2018
(with Yuan Wang and Lei Zhang). National Bureau of Economic Research, NBER Working Paper No. 31367. June 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
Patience, Risk-Taking, and Human Capital Investment across Countries
(with Lavinia Kinne, Philipp Lergetporer, and Ludger Woessmann). Economic Journal, 132 (646), pp. 2290-2307. 2022
The Basic Skills Gap
(with Ludger Woessmann). Finance & Development, 59(2), pp. 50-53. 2022
Residential Location and Education in the United States
(with Kuzey Yilmaz). In Charles K.Y. Leung (ed.). Handbook of Real Estate and Macroeconomics, Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 106-136. 2022
The Unwavering SES Achievement Gap: Trends in U.S. Student Performance
(with Paul E. Peterson, Laura M. Talpey, and Ludger Woessmann). NBER Working Paper No. 25648, National Bureau of Economic Research. Mar-19
The intergenerational transmission of cognitive skills
(with Babs Jacobs, Guido Schwerdt, Rolf van der Velden, Stan Vermeulen, and Simon Wiederhold). VoxEU. 22-Feb-22
The Political Economy of ILSAs in Education: The Role of Knowledge Capital in Economic Growth
(with Ludger Woessmann). International Handbook of Comparative Large-Scale Studies in Education, Springer . 2021
The Intergenerational Transmission of Cognitive Skills: An Investigation of the Causal Impact of Families on Student Outcomes
(with Babs Jacobs, Guido Schwerdt, Rolf van der Velden, Stan Vermeulen, and Simon Wiederhold). NBER Working Paper No. 29450, National Bureau of Economic Research. November 2021
Budgeting During and For Recovery
In Margaret E. Raymond (ed.). How to Improve our Schools in the Post-COVID Era, Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution. 2021
Does the World Change for Teachers?
In Margaret E. Raymond (ed.). How to Improve our Schools in the Post-COVID Era, Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution. 2021
Addressing Cross-national Generalizability in Educational Impact Evaluation
 NBER Working Paper No. 25460, National Bureau of Economic Research. Jan-19
Addressing Cross-national Generalizability in Educational Impact Evaluation
 International Journal of Educational Development, 80, 102318. Jan-19
United States: The Uphill Schools’ Struggle
In Nuno Crato (ed.). Improving a Country’s Education: PISA 2018 Results in 10 Countries, Cham, Switzerland: Springer, pp. 227-247. 2021
The real costs of closing schools and what can be done to address them
(with Ludger Woessmann). Teresa and Alexandre Soares dos Santos - Education Initiative. 29-Sep-20
Costs of Past and Future Learning Losses
(with Ludger Woessmann). Education Next. 9-Sep-20
Permanent Economic Damage from Learning Losses
(with Ludger Woessmann) . National Review Capital Matters. Sep-20
Students have already been saddled with economic losses from school closures
(with Ludger Woessmann). The Hill. 10-Sep-20
Test-Based Accountability in Distressed Times
(with Chester E. Finn Jr.). The State Education Standard, September 20(3), pp. 13-17. 2020