ON EDUCATION & DEFAULTS

Imagine if, to learn Spanish, people used to go live for one year in a Spanish-speaking country.

Then, someone said, "Nah, let's have them sit for 4 years in classrooms in a country that speaks another language, and charge them $150k for that."

(1/6)

2/ Imagine if degrees took different amounts of years to complete, based on the complexity of the underlying field. For example, 5 years for engineering and 1 year for gender studies.

Then, someone proposed: "Nah, let's make them all last 4 years."

3/ Reversing default choices is the best way to let opportunity costs emerge. Below, some more examples.

4/ Imagine if someone proposed to stop teaching coding and teach a dead language instead.

And yet, more than 1/3 of Italian students must study Latin. https://twitter.com/DellAnnaLuca/status/1345974948117020672

5/ Imagine if teachers were hired on the basis of how good they are at teaching.

Then, someone said, "Nah, let's hire them solely on the basis of their research and/or on a quiz test."

6/ Imagine if universities were paid through income-share agreements (they take 10% of the first few salaries after graduation – a good way to align incentives).

Then, someone said, "Nah, let's have students pay $150k regardless of whether they find a job afterwards."