This Website uses cookies. By using this website you are agreeing to our use of cookies and to the terms and conditions listed in our data protection policy. Read more

Working Paper No. 1408

Test Scores and Economic Growth: Update and Extension

Working Paper
Reference
Heller-Sahlgren, Gabriel and Henrik Jordahl (2021). “Test Scores and Economic Growth: Update and Extension”. IFN Working Paper No. 1408. Stockholm: Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN).

Authors
Gabriel Heller-Sahlgren, Henrik Jordahl

Research indicates that education quality – measured by test scores in international student surveys – predicts economic growth. In this paper, we extend previous findings up to 2016 and analyse test scores of upper-secondary school students only. We find that the positive relationship between growth and test scores holds in both cases. The share of top-performing students exhibits a stronger correlation with economic growth than does the share of students who meet basic requirements.