We try to identify which economic factors might be responsible for the large international differences in student performance. We present time series evidence for a number of European countries which suggests that rising educational expenditures obviously did not improve student performance....

This paper estimates the effects of family background, resources, and institutions on student performance in 17 Western European school systems. Family background has a strong effect in Europe, remarkably similar in size to the United States. France and Flemish Belgium achieve the most equitable...