Monthly Archives: July 2009

Do Teachers Matter?

Posted on July 29, 2009 by andrewleigh

A psychology study hit the headlines last Friday under the banner ‘Teacher quality makes little difference, study shows’.

Posted in Economics of Education | 5 Comments

Dietonomics

Posted on July 28, 2009 by andrewleigh

My oped today was on the economics of dieting. Full text over the fold.

Posted in Health economics | 5 Comments

The Other Idiot Box, Part II

Posted on July 27, 2009 by andrewleigh

One of our ANU RSSS visitors, Jacob Vigdor, has an opinion piece in today’s Australian about the (negative) impact of home computer use on test scores. He writes: Why should we believe, though, that the true effects are negative? The … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics of Education | 3 Comments

Wryside Economics of Education

Posted on July 23, 2009 by andrewleigh

My second Wryside Economics talk on ABC Radio National Life Matters today was on two big issues in the economics of education – conditional cash transfers and class size reductions. If you’re interested, you can download it here.

Posted in Economics of Education | Comments Off on Wryside Economics of Education

More Evidence on Cash 4 Class

Posted on July 20, 2009 by andrewleigh

A recent randomised evaluation from Wisconsin has potential application to the debate over Australian proposals to link school attendance to income support. Conditional Cash Penalties in Education: Evidence from the Learnfare Experiment (stable link, ungated link) by Thomas Dee Wisconsin’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics of Education, Inequality | 2 Comments

The 123s of the 456

Posted on July 18, 2009 by andrewleigh

We’ve just finished watching Torchwood’s new “Children of Earth” series… (Spoiler over the fold)

Posted in Television | 3 Comments

The Other Idiot Box

Posted on July 14, 2009 by andrewleigh

Jacob Vigdor, a Duke University economist who does terrific work on education, segregation and immigration, is presently visiting ANU. He’s giving a talk on Friday – details below. Scaling the Digital Divide: Home Computer Technology and Student Achievement (with Charles … Continue reading →

Posted in Coming Events | Comments Off on The Other Idiot Box

The Practical Tradeoff Between Class Size and Teacher Quality

Posted on July 14, 2009 by andrewleigh

My AFR oped today is on class size and teacher quality. Full text over the fold (with hyperlinks for anyone who wants more detail on the research).

Posted in Economics of Education | 5 Comments

The Costs of Comparative Advantage

Posted on July 12, 2009 by andrewleigh

The New York Times editors ask 5 experts on marriage how Ruth Madoff, Bernie Madoff’s wife, could not have known about his fraud. Perhaps I need to get out more, but the only one that makes any sense to me … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics of the Family | 2 Comments

Health risks among Vietnam veterans have been overplayed…

Posted on July 8, 2009 by andrewleigh

…at least, according to new research on mortality by Dalton Conley and Jennifer Heerwig. Their empirical strategy relies on the random nature of the draft lottery, so it’s pretty convincing. Abstract below. The Long-Term Effects of Military Conscription on Mortality: … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Inequality and Growth

Posted on July 5, 2009 by andrewleigh

I have a new paper out with Dan Andrews and Christopher Jencks, on the relationship between inequality and growth. We reach a finding that is pretty standard in this literature – when we restrict the sample to 1960-2000, more inequality … Continue reading →

Posted in Inequality, Macroeconomics | Comments Off on Inequality and Growth

Comments Policy

Posted on July 4, 2009 by andrewleigh

A commenter recently reminded me that I haven’t explicitly stated a comments policy for this blog. Since I haven’t gotten around to revamping the sidebar, let me simply post my guidelines: Please aim to keep comments civil, concise and relevant. … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging | Comments Off on Comments Policy

Wry-side economics

Posted on July 2, 2009 by andrewleigh

I’ve started a regular gig on ABC Radio National, chatting about new economics research with Richard Aedy on Life Matters. The first episode was this morning – speaking about creative lifecycles. You can listen to it here. I’ll be back … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Wry-side economics