Today, Eric Hanushek argues that blaming the COVID-19 pandemic for declining student achievement misses longer-term trends in education outcomes; Russell Berman joins the GoodFellows to discuss the Gaza cease-fire and broader currents in Middle East geopolitics; and Dr. Francisco Sagasti, former president of Peru, speaks with H.R. McMaster about Peruvian democracy and the leadership qualities needed to sustain free societies.
Reforming K–12 Education
In an essay for Hoover’s new Substack Freedom Frequency, Senior Fellow Eric Hanushek looks beyond the severe disruptions schools experienced during the pandemic to a more stubborn problem: American students had already been falling behind for many years before 2020. A wide range of policies designed to help the COVID cohort—longer days, more days, tutoring, summer school—have done nothing to stanch these long-term learning losses. As Hanushek shows, the economic cost of total accrued learning declines is staggering. Ultimately, narrowing the learning gaps demands deeper changes in the incentives that drive achievement. Read more here.
Determining America’s Role in the World
A hostage return and the signing of a cease-fire agreement signal a new chapter in the long-running dream of peace in the Middle East. Did it matter that the key negotiators, on the US side, were financiers and real-estate developers rather than scions of America’s diplomatic corps? Senior Fellow Russell A. Berman, codirector of Hoover’s Working Group on the Middle East and the Islamic World, joins GoodFellows regulars Niall Ferguson and John H. Cochrane to discuss the sturdiness of the Trump White House’s 20-point peace plan, the futures of Hamas and the Abraham Accords, and the likelihood of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reliving Winston Churchill’s fate as a successful wartime leader rejected by a war-weary electorate. The panelists also discuss whether a “real estate-ism” approach to diplomacy will prove effective in President Trump’s upcoming meetings with his Russian and Chinese counterparts. Finally, Cochrane and Ferguson salute the legendary economist Thomas Sowell, the subject of a Hoover Institution conference held today. Watch or listen here.
For a new episode of Today’s Battlegrounds, Dr. Francisco Sagasti, former president of Peru, joins Hoover Senior Fellow H.R. McMaster to discuss lessons from Sagasti's leadership, regional challenges to freedom and prosperity in Latin America, and the guest’s latest books, which explore the life of Sir Francis Bacon and the relevance of his philosophy for today’s international system. Reflecting on Peru’s turbulent political landscape and its role in a new era of geopolitical competition, Sagasti shares his perspective on the recent ouster of President Dina Boluarte and his advice to the interim leadership. He explores the roots of popular discontent in Peru, the demands of citizens seeking accountable governance, and his concerns about sovereignty from the perspective of economic and cognitive warfare. Despite these pressures, Sagasti discusses his continued confidence in democracy and the qualities that must be rekindled in political leadership to sustain it for future generations. Watch or listen here.
Writing in his weekly column for RealClearPolitics, Senior Fellow Peter Berkowitz examines the challenges that lie ahead following the Gaza cease-fire deal and the return of the living Israeli hostages from Hamas captivity. “The reality remains,” Berkowitz writes, “that Israelis reside in a dangerous neighborhood, and the Jewish state is a long way from living in peace and harmony with its neighbors, beginning with Hamas in Gaza.” Berkowitz notes that Hamas has not yet fulfilled all of its obligations under the cease-fire, including returning the bodies of deceased hostages. “No reasonable person should be surprised that already at this early stage, implementation of the president’s comprehensive plan” has met with obstacles, Berkowitz notes, because an organization like Hamas “cannot be trusted to bargain in good faith, honor promises, or understand its interests as do citizens of rights-protecting democracies understand theirs.” Berkowitz encourages American diplomats to remember these facts as talks in the region proceed. Read more here.
Revitalizing American Institutions
In a post for the Third Order Substack, Research Fellow Patrick A. McLaughlin offers an overview of four key elements of regulatory reform that can help bolster economic growth. First, he argues, “Create a mechanism that forces red tape reduction.” Then, “Limit the creation of new regulations to those that make sense.” McLaughlin next suggests that governments interested in regulatory reduction invest resources in data production and analysis. As he writes, resulting “cost-benefit analyses can be used to inform regulatory design itself as well as legislators’ votes. . . and to guide red tape reduction efforts.” Finally, the column calls for “an office to oversee everything,” because “it needs to be someone’s job to make sure that the regulatory reform doesn’t lose steam when the political winds shift.” Read more here.
Related Commentary