@woessmann.bsky.social
Professor of Economics, University of Munich Director, ifo Center for the Economics of Education https://sites.google.com/view/woessmann-e
How much does out-of-school learning influence foreign-language acquisition? Our new analysis shows that historical national decisions to subtitle imported TV content systematically result in a large positive effect on English-language skills.
open.substack.com/pu...
📢 FYI: 🧵 on 🆕 paper on training & early retirement: @hhsievertsen.bsky.social @lindseymacmillan.bsky.social @marirege.bsky.social @ingoisphording.bsky.social @raphaelbrade.bsky.social @econmunich.bsky.social @rationalitycrc.bsky.social @cesifo.org @ifoeducation.bsky.social
11.11.2025 05:59 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0📢 FYI: 🧵 on 🆕 paper on training & early retirement: @massimo-anelli.bsky.social @profdaviddorn.bsky.social @winterebmer.bsky.social @caspalh.bsky.social @simonjaeger.bsky.social @michelebelot.bsky.social @henninghermes.com @simonwiederhold.bsky.social @lergetporer.bsky.social
11.11.2025 05:59 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0Finding that robot exposure led to labor market exit of elderly workers adds important nuance to literature on labor market effects of robots in Germany
Overall, findings highlight scope for policy to promote adjustment mechanisms conducive to aggregate productivity
9/9
➡️ Training & retiring are relevant adjustment mechanisms used by firms & workers in intricate ways to react to disruptions
➡️ Structural change induces both productivity-enhancing & -reducing responses
➡️ Challenges simple narratives of labor market adaptation
8/9
I.e., response to robot 🤖 adoption:
⬆️ training 🧠 in indirectly affected services 🏢 but
⬆️ early retirement 👴 in directly affected manufacturing 🏭
Response to import 🌏 competition:
⬇️ training 🧠
⬆️ early retirement 👴 in manufacturing 🏭
Opposite response to export expansion 🔁
7/9
4️⃣ Robot 🤖 exposure raises early retirement among manufacturing workers 🧑🏭🏖️
5️⃣ Same for import 🌏 exposure
6️⃣ Opposite for export exposure 🔁
6/9
Results:
1️⃣ Robot 🤖 exposure increases training 🧠—particularly in indirectly affected services 🧑💼
2️⃣ Import 🌏 exposure reduces training—particularly in manufacturing 🏭
3️⃣ Opposite for export exposure 🔁
5/9
Established methods:
Shift-share measures of local exposure to
➡️ Trade integration with China & Eastern Europe 🗺️
➡️ Industrial robot adoption 🤖
Identification
➡️ Instrument local exposure using industry-specific changes in other high-income countries 🌐
4/9
Novel data construction for German local labor markets, 1994-2014:
1️⃣ Training participation from Microcensus 📊
2️⃣ Early retirement from IAB employment records 🗂️
3/9
How do firms & workers adjust to trade & technology shocks?
We study 2 mechanisms that received little attention:
1️⃣ Training: upgrade skills 🧠💻
2️⃣ Early retirement: shift adjustment costs to public pension systems 🧾🏖️
Opposite implications for aggregate productivity 🔁
2/9
🆕Working Paper🚨
Training or Retiring? How Labor Markets Adjust to Trade and Technology Shocks📒
w/ A.Bertermann, @dauthecon.bsky.social & @suedekum.bsky.social
🤖 Robots ➡️ ⬆️training & ⬆️early retirement
🌏 Imports ➡️ ⬇️training & ⬆️early r.
🌎 Exports ➡️ ⬆️training & ⬇️e.r.
www.ifo.de/DocDL/cesifo...
🧵1/9
Can Schools Change Religious Attitudes? Evidence from German State Reforms of Compulsory Religious Education Benjamin W. Arold, Ludger Woessmann and Larissa Zierow We study whether compulsory religious education in schools affects students’ religiosity as adults. We exploit the staggered termination of compulsory religious education across German states in models with state and cohort fixed effects. Using three different datasets, we find that a reform abolishing compulsory religious education significantly reduced the religiosity of affected students in adulthood. It also reduced the religious actions of personal prayer, church-going, and church membership. Beyond religious attitudes, and consistent with a shift towards worldly norms and economic activities, the reform led to higher labor-market participation and earnings. By contrast, the reform did not affect ethical and political values or non-religious school outcomes.
Can schools change faith? Benjamin Arold, @woessmann.bsky.social & Larissa Zierow find that ending mandatory #ReligiousEducation reduces adult #religiosity by 7%. Students earn more, work longer hours, but pray less and skip church.
doi.org/10.3368/jhr....
And oh boy, "Adam's Research Minute" is a banger. The
@benjaminarold.bsky.social, @woessmann.bsky.social, Zierow research on how schooling affects religiosity is super important and interesting. Here's the link to the journal article: jhr.uwpress.org/content/earl...
6/n
Unser wichtigster Gradmesser der bundeslandspezifischen Entwicklung. Leider nur alle 6 Jahre.
Extrem wichtige Zahlen. Sie sind ein Desaster.
Die Bildungsministerkonferenz dazu: „Licht und Schatten im IQB-Bildungstrend 2024“😯🤷
3/3
Alle sozio-demographischen Gruppen betroffen.
Rückgang in allen Bundesländern. (Lediglich Hamburg (in allen Fächern) nicht signifikant.) Z.B. Mathe:
NRW -34⬇️
Bayern -23⬇️
2/3
⚡9.-Klässler:innen 2024 vs. 2018:
Mathe -24⬇️
Bio -24⬇️
Chemie -24⬇️
Physik -23⬇️
Die neuen Ergebnisse des IQB-Bildungstrends.
Ganz grob gesprochen: 9.-Klässler:innen liegen heute etwa auf Niveau der 8.-Klässler:innen noch vor 6 Jahren.
1/3
Bildung ist die Grundlage unseres Wohlstands. Wie Nationen dieses Kapital vermehren können:
Mein Interview zu meinem Vortrag bei der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften @oeaw.bsky.social (ÖAW-/Statistik Austria-Lecture)
www.oeaw.ac.at/news/wie-hae...
Wie müssen sich Lernen und Unterrichten verändern in Zeiten von KI und Niedergang traditioneller Industrien?
🎙️ Mein Interview in der Welt darüber, was die aktuellen Transformationsprozesse für die Bildung bedeuten.
www.welt.de/politik/deut...
📢 FYI: 🆕 paper on religious education out in JHR: @tomdee.bsky.social @kinnelavinia.bsky.social @raphaelbrade.bsky.social @econmunich.bsky.social @rationalitycrc.bsky.social @cesifo.org @ifoeducation.bsky.social
10.10.2025 05:00 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0📢 FYI: 🆕 paper on religious education out in JHR: @colinpgreen.bsky.social @johanneshaushofer.com @marirege.bsky.social @astridsandsor.bsky.social @jeffdenning.com @ingoisphording.bsky.social @henninghermes.com @simonwiederhold.bsky.social @profsimonb.bsky.social @michelebelot.bsky.social
10.10.2025 05:00 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0📢 FYI: 🆕 paper on religious education out in JHR: @cedr.bsky.social @lindseymacmillan.bsky.social @lnavarrosola.bsky.social @gzamarro.bsky.social @matthewakraft.com @mdoepke.bsky.social @kirabojackson.bsky.social @singhabhi.bsky.social @arielkalil.bsky.social @adegendre.bsky.social
10.10.2025 05:00 — 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0📢 FYI: 🆕 paper on religious education out in JHR: @essobecker.bsky.social @jaredcrubin.com @jeanetbentzen.bsky.social @nathannunn.bsky.social @lergetporer.bsky.social @dynarski.bsky.social @joshua-goodman.com @peterbergman.bsky.social @imbernomics.bsky.social @hhsievertsen.bsky.social
10.10.2025 05:00 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0➡️Content of school curriculum exerts lifetime influence on students
Even on inner attitudes + values such as religiosity
What you learn in school is for life, indeed‼️
6/6
Effects beyond religion:
🧑🏭 Higher labor-market participation + earnings (consistent with shift towards worldly norms + economic activities) 🌎
👨👩👧👦 Reduced fertility
By contrast, no effects on ethical + political values or non-religious school outcomes
5/6
👉 Reform abolishing compulsory religious education significantly reduced religiosity of affected students in adulthood
Similar reductions in specific religious actions:
1️⃣ personal act of prayer
2️⃣ public act of church-going
3️⃣ formal (+costly) act of church membership
4/6
Two-way fixed effects model (state + cohort fixed effects) exploits staggered reform adoption:
Uses variation in abolishment of compulsory religious education across states + over time to study effects on outcomes in adulthood
3️⃣ datasets:
▶️ NEPS
▶️ ALLBUS
▶️ SOEP
3/6
Unique German setting:
🏫 Religious education was compulsory in state schools: 1000 hours over school career (>4x physics)
Abolished in staggered reforms across states 1972-2004
Replaced by option to choose between religious education + non-denominational “ethics”
2/6
🚨 Now out in Journal of Human Resources:
⛪️ Can Schools Change Religious Attitudes?
Evidence from German State Reforms of Compulsory Religious Education
w/ @benjaminarold.bsky.social & Larissa Zierow
👉 Religious education in school affects adult lives
🔗 jhr.uwpress.org/content/earl...
A 🧵 1/6
Check out the current edition of our newsletter.
Topics:
🔷What adolescents and adults think about social media
🔷Socioeconomic gap in child care
🔷Peers at college entry improve performance
...
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