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Wages, teacher recruitment, and student achievement

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  • Gjefsen, Hege Marie

Abstract

I exploit a benefit program in disadvantaged schools in the city of Oslo to estimate the effect of increased wages in primary and secondary education. The program’s main content was a wage increase of about 5%. Using a difference-in-differences approach, I study whether the program led to a change the characteristics of newly hired teachers in terms of educational background and academic achievement, and estimate student achievement effects to discuss teacher selection by effectiveness. I find positive effects on the probability of hiring teachers with a master’s degree. There are no changes in other observable characteristics. Improved student achievement indicates positive selection effects also in terms of teacher effectiveness after the reform.

Suggested Citation

  • Gjefsen, Hege Marie, 2020. "Wages, teacher recruitment, and student achievement," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:labeco:v:65:y:2020:i:c:s092753712030052x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2020.101848
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Difference-in-differences; Teacher selection; Teacher wages; Teacher recruitment; Teacher effectiveness; Disadvanted schools;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs
    • J4 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets

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