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The article explores how a dearth of job opportunities in the broader economy affects teacher quality--a key question, as teachers affect student outcomes during school and well into adulthood. It is a timely question as well, since jobseekers are likely to outnumber openings for some time. That may benefit U.S. schools and students in the long run, as we've found that individuals who choose to enter the teaching profession during a recession are significantly more effective at raising test scores. Weaker job markets offer a window of opportunity to hire stronger teachers. The effects are most pronounced in math, where teachers who enter the profession during a labor-market downturn are 0.11 standard deviations more effective than those who start teaching when the economy is strong. That amounts to an additional $770 in lifetime earnings, on average, for each student taught by a teacher entering during a recession, or $13,000 cumulatively over a lifetime for the average class size of 17 students. The soaring unemployment rate because of the COVID-19 pandemic may improve teacher quality. That's the conclusion the researchers draw from their study of more than 30,000 Florida teachers and their students. That group included teachers who entered the profession between 1969 and 2009, a period that spanned six recessions.

Background: Depression, the most frequent and harmful mental disorder, has been associated with specific somatic diseases as the leading cause of death. The purposes of this prospective study were to predict incident chronic diseases based on baseline depressive symptoms and to test sex-dependent effects. Methods: In a representative German community sample of over 12 000 participants, baseline depressive symptoms (assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9) were tested as a predictor of new onset of cardiovascular disease (CVD), chronic obstructive lung disease, diabetes, cancer, and migraine at 5-year follow-up. To study disease incidence, we created subsamples for each chronic disease by excluding participants who already had the respective disease at baseline. Potential confounders were included in logistic regression models and sex-specific analyses were performed. Results: Controlling for demographic characteristics and loneliness, in men and women, baseline depressive symptoms were predictive of CVD, chronic obstructive lung disease, diabetes, and migraine, but not of cancer. When we additionally adjusted for metabolic and lifestyle risk factors, there was an 8% increase of chronic obstructive lung disease and migraine per point of depressive symptoms. There was a trend for CVD (4%; p = 0.053). Sex-sensitive analyses revealed trends for the relevance of depressive symptoms for CVD in men (p = 0.065), and for diabetes in women (p = 0.077). Conclusions: These findings underscore the need to implement screening for depression in the treatment of major somatic illnesses. At the same time, depressed patients should be screened for metabolic and lifestyle risk factors and for somatic diseases and offered lifestyle interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims To examine the 5-year change in refractive error in phakic eyes and its risk factors in the general population. Methods The Gutenberg Health Study (GHS) is a population-based cohort study including 15 010 participants from Germany aged 35-74 years at baseline examination (2007-2012). After 5 years, a follow-up examination was carried out (83% participation). 5-year change of spherical equivalent (SE) was computed as difference between follow-up and baseline objective refraction. Linear and logistic regression analysis were conducted analysing potential risk factors. Only phakic eyes at follow-up examination were included. Results Right eyes of 10 175 subjects were included. An age-related shift of refractive error was identified, namely -0.12 D for age 35-44 years, 0.25 D for age 45-54 years, 0.25 D for age 55-64 years and 0.12 D for age 65-74 years during the 5-year follow-up. Smokers had a hyperopic shift (OR=1.31; p<0.001), while baseline SE (OR=0.89 per dioptre; p<0.001) and female sex (OR=1.49; p<0.001) were linked with a myopic shift. Education, occupation and other cardiovascular parameters were not associated with change in refractive error. Conclusions The GHS demonstrates a parabolic shift in refractive error with a myopic shift at age 35-44 years, followed by a hyperopic shift at age 45-64 years which decreases at higher age. Smoking is associated with a hyperopic shift whereas female sex and myopic baseline SE is associated with a myopic shift. Educational level and occupation were not linked to a change in refractive error at age 35-74 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]