In recent work, Helena Svaleryd and her collaborators have analyzed the effects of school closures on the spread of COVID-19 and on student mental health, utilizing a quasi-experimental variation in light of Sweden’s decision to switch only upper-secondary schools to remote instruction.

During her visit at CESifo, Ms. Svaleryd will continue her work at the intersection of schooling and health. Reflecting broader global trends, Sweden has pursued market-oriented education reforms, including school choice, competition from private providers, and the increased use of standardized testing and early grading. The aim of her current projects is to explore how these reforms impact teachers’ mental health, absenteeism, and mobility.

Eric Hanushek is the Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University. He is internationally recognized for his economic analysis of educational issues, and his research has had broad influence on education policy in both developed and developing countries.

He received the Yidan Prize for Education Research in 2021. He is the author of numerous widely-cited studies on the effects of class size reduction, school accountability, teacher effectiveness, and other topics. He was the first to research teacher effectiveness by measuring students’ learning gains, which forms the conceptual basis for using value-added measures to evaluate teachers and schools, now a widely adopted practice.