Post by Alex Edmans

Merit-based hiring sounds great — but not if merit is measured by purely quantitative metrics.. A sweeping reform in Colombia aimed to improve public education by hiring teachers based on test scores rather than local discretion. The new hires were brighter on paper — scoring 17 points higher on average in exams — and came with higher salaries. But replacing experienced teachers with novices led to worse student outcomes: 🔻 Test scores fell by up to 16% of a standard deviation 🔻 College enrolment dropped by 21% Merit isn’t just about cognitive skills — it’s also about wisdom built over years. Policy design must weigh both, but policymakers prefer to focus on quantitative performance measures at the expense of the qualitative. https://lnkd.in/ezRVtJjc