Prof Satoshi Araki has published an article "The Paradox of Economic Development and Academic Achievement: Evidence from PISA for 77 economies over 20 years" in Studies in Educational Evaluation (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2026.101636). In this paper, Prof Araki examines the relationship between macro-level economic development and student performance. Analysing the country-level panel dataset originally constructed from the OECD PISA for 77 economies over 20 years, the study identifies the paradoxical structure: GDP per capita and average PISA scores are positively linked cross-sectionally (affluent countries are more likely to show better student performance) but within-country economic growth negatively predicts student achievement longitudinally. The same structure is observed when replacing GDP with cumulative educational expenditure. Discussing some potential mechanisms, Prof Araki calls for further investigations into the paradoxical relationship between macroeconomic conditions and academic performance: the PISA paradox.