Eric Hanushek is the Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University. He has been a leader in the development of economic analysis of educational issues with his work frequently entering into the design of national and international educational policy. His research spans such diverse areas as the impact of teacher quality, high stakes accountability, equity and efficiency in school finance, and class size reduction along with the role of cognitive skills in international growth and development. His pioneering analysis measuring teacher quality through growth in student achievement forms the basis for current research into the value-added of teachers and schools. He has authored or edited twenty books along with over 200 articles. He is a Distinguished Graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and completed his Ph.D. in economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

He joined IZA as a Research Fellow in June 2013.