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Do Teachers Really Leave for Higher Paying Jobs in Alternative Occupations?

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Abstract

In this paper we examine a very common perception which plays a central role in much current educational policy debate - that the large majority of teacher attrition is driven by the allure of higher paying jobs in alternative occupations. Using unique data from the state of Georgia that are created by merging administrative data from the educational system with wage records from the Unemployment Insurance system, we find very strong evidence that this common perception is not correct.

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  • Benjamin Scafidi & David L. Sjoquist & Todd R. Stinebrickner, 2005. "Do Teachers Really Leave for Higher Paying Jobs in Alternative Occupations?," University of Western Ontario, Centre for Human Capital and Productivity (CHCP) Working Papers 20055, University of Western Ontario, Centre for Human Capital and Productivity (CHCP).
    • Handle: RePEc:uwo:hcuwoc:20055
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    1. Steven G. Rivkin & Eric A. Hanushek & John F. Kain, 2005. "Teachers, Schools, and Academic Achievement," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 73(2), pages 417-458, March.
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    18. Scafidi, Benjamin & Sjoquist, David L. & Stinebrickner, Todd R., 2007. "Race, poverty, and teacher mobility," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 145-159, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jonah E. Rockoff, 2008. "Does Mentoring Reduce Turnover and Improve Skills of New Employees? Evidence from Teachers in New York City," NBER Working Papers 13868, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Vera, Celia Patricia, 2018. "A structural approach to assessing retention policies in public schools," MPRA Paper 90657, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Vera, Celia Patricia, 2013. "Career Mobility Patterns of Public School Teachers," MPRA Paper 49340, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Varga, Júlia, 2013. "A közalkalmazotti béremelés hatása a tanárok pályaelhagyási döntéseire [The effect of a public-sector pay increase on teachers attrition]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(5), pages 579-600.
    5. Joseph Marchand & Jeremy G. Weber, 2020. "How Local Economic Conditions Affect School Finances, Teacher Quality, and Student Achievement: Evidence from the Texas Shale Boom," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(1), pages 36-63, January.
    6. Arias J. J. & Scafidi Benjamin, 2009. "When Does Teacher Licensure Make Sense?," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 9(1), pages 1-46, February.
    7. Dora Gicheva, 2022. "Altruism and Burnout: Long Hours in the Teaching Profession," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 75(2), pages 427-457, March.
    8. Matthew M. Chingos & Martin R. West, 2010. "Do More Effective Teachers Earn More Outside of the Classroom?," CESifo Working Paper Series 2996, CESifo.
    9. Eric Hanushek & Steven Rivkin, "undated". "Constrained Job Matching: Does Teacher Job Search Harm Disadvantaged Urban Schools?," Discussion Papers 09-011, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.
    10. Marchand, Joseph & Weber, Jeremy, 2017. "The Local Effects of the Texas Shale Boom on Schools, Students, and Teachers," Working Papers 2017-12, University of Alberta, Department of Economics, revised 31 Jan 2019.
    11. Fraenkel, Rebecca Cannon, 2022. "Local labor markets and job match quality: Teachers," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    12. Reagan A. Baughman & Kristin E. Smith, 2012. "Labor Mobility Of The Direct Care Workforce: Implications For The Provision Of Long‐Term Care," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(12), pages 1402-1415, December.
    13. Ying Liu & Yongping Yu & Xiaoying Zeng & Yufei Li, 2023. "Linking Preschool Teachers’ Pay Equity and Turnover Intention in Chinese Public Kindergartens: The Mediating Role of Perceived Organizational Support and Job Satisfaction," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-17, September.
    14. Jan Ondrich & Emily Pas & John Yinger, 2008. "The Determinants of Teacher Attrition in Upstate New York," Public Finance Review, , vol. 36(1), pages 112-144, January.
    15. Hirsch, Barry & Manzella, Julia, 2014. "Who Cares – and Does It Matter? Measuring Wage Penalties for Caring Work," IZA Discussion Papers 8388, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Eric A. Hanushek & Steven G. Rivkin, 2010. "The Quality and Distribution of Teachers under the No Child Left Behind Act," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 24(3), pages 133-150, Summer.
    17. Patrick Walsh, 2014. "When Unified Teacher Pay Scales Meet Differential Alternative Returns," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 9(3), pages 304-333, July.
    18. Hanushek, Eric A., 2011. "The economic value of higher teacher quality," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 466-479, June.
    19. Vera Celia P., 2019. "A Structural Approach to Assessing Retention Policies in Public Schools," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 19(3), pages 1-26, July.
    20. Carroll David & Parasnis Jaai & Tani Massimiliano, 2021. "Why do women become teachers while men don’t?," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 21(2), pages 793-823, April.
    21. Gilpin, Gregory A., 2011. "Reevaluating the effect of non-teaching wages on teacher attrition," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 598-616, August.
    22. Daniel Aaronson & Katherine Meckel, 2009. "How will baby boomer retirements affect teacher labor markets?," Economic Perspectives, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, vol. 33(Q IV), pages 2-15.
    23. Wiswall, Matthew, 2013. "The dynamics of teacher quality," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 61-78.
    24. Gregory Gilpin, 2009. "Reevaluating the Effect of Non-Teaching Wages on Teacher Attrition," CAEPR Working Papers 2009-022, Center for Applied Economics and Policy Research, Department of Economics, Indiana University Bloomington.
    25. Boyle Glenn, 2008. "Pay Peanuts and Get Monkeys? Evidence from Academia," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 8(1), pages 1-26, July.

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