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Absence, substitutability and productivity: Evidence from teachers

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  • Benhenda, Asma

Abstract

Teacher absence is a widespread phenomenon, but little is known about its effects on teacher productivity and schools’ strategies to cope with this temporary disruptive event through substitute teachers. Using a unique French administrative dataset matching, for each absence spell, each missing secondary school teacher to her substitute teacher, I find that, on average, teacher absence reduces pupil test scores by around 0.40% of a standard deviation. On average, substitute teachers are unable to mitigate this negative effect. However, there is substantial heterogeneity depending on the type of substitute teacher: certified substitute teachers are able to compensate for up to 25% of this negative impact, while non-certified substitute teachers have no statistically significant effect.

Suggested Citation

  • Benhenda, Asma, 2022. "Absence, substitutability and productivity: Evidence from teachers," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:labeco:v:76:y:2022:i:c:s0927537122000574
    DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2022.102167
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    2. Niki Glaveli & Panagiotis Manolitzas & Fotios Vouzas & Chris Liassidis, 2023. "Developing a Sustainable Work Environment for Substitute Teachers: A Multi-Criteria Job Satisfaction Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-13, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Absence; Substitutability; Productivity; Teachers;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor
    • M51 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Firm Employment Decisions; Promotions

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