Will U.S. Schools Drag Us Down?

ABSTRACT: Politicians tend to underestimate and to undervalue societal benefits that come far in the future, and this is particularly problematic with schools. Even though the economic benefits of improving growth through better schools far exceed the benefits from short run macro policies, the latter receives much more attention. In this talk, the returns to improved schools are described, and these returns are related to a variety of possible school reform policies.

• Eric Hanushek