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Teacher shortages and the business cycle

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  • Falch, Torberg
  • Johansen, Kåre
  • Strøm, Bjarne

Abstract

The ability of the public sector to recruit skilled workers is important for the quality of public sector services. Centralized and rigid pay systems in the public sector might reduce labour supply and lead to shortages of qualified personnel in areas and periods with strong outside labour markets. This paper shows that teacher shortages measured by the share of teachers without approved education are strongly procyclical in Norway. Using a large panel of Norwegian local governments for 1981-2002 and exploiting the rigid wage system, we find a sizeable negative relationship between teacher shortages and the regional unemployment rate.

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  • Falch, Torberg & Johansen, Kåre & Strøm, Bjarne, 2009. "Teacher shortages and the business cycle," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(6), pages 648-658, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:labeco:v:16:y:2009:i:6:p:648-658
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    Cited by:

    1. Nagler, Markus & Piopiunik, Marc & West, Martin R., 2015. "Weak Markets, Strong Teachers: Recession at Career Start and Teacher Effectiveness," Discussion Papers in Economics 25110, University of Munich, Department of Economics.
    2. Falch, Torberg & Johansen, Kåre & Strøm, Bjarne, 2009. "Teacher shortages and the business cycle," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(6), pages 648-658, December.
    3. repec:bla:obuest:v:79:y:2017:i:5:p:654-688 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Markus Nagler & Marc Piopiunik & Martin R. West, 2015. "Weak Markets, Strong Teachers: Recession at Career Start and Teacher Effectiveness," NBER Working Papers 21393, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Maczulskij, Terhi, 2013. "Public–private sector wage differentials and the business cycle," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 284-301.
    6. Braga, Michela & Checchi, Daniele & Garrouste, Christelle & Scervini, Francesco, 2019. "Selecting or Rewarding Teachers? International Evidence from Primary Schools," IZA Discussion Papers 12200, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Nagler, Markus & Piopiunik, Marc & West, Martin R., 2015. "Weak Markets, Strong Teachers," Annual Conference 2015 (Muenster): Economic Development - Theory and Policy 112949, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    8. Stefanie Hof & Mirjam Strupler & Stefan C. Wolter, 2011. "Quereinsteiger in den Lehrberuf am Beispiel der schweizerischen Berufsbildung," Economics of Education Working Paper Series 0059, University of Zurich, Department of Business Administration (IBW).
    9. Torberg Falch & Astrid Marie Jorde Sandsør & Bjarne Strøm, 2017. "Do Smaller Classes Always Improve Students’ Long-run Outcomes?," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 79(5), pages 654-688, October.
    10. Nagler, Markus & Piopiunik, Marc & West, Martin R., 2019. "Weak Markets, Strong Teachers: Recession At Career Start and Teacher Effectiveness," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 137, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.
    11. Terhi Maczulskij, 2016. "Higher education and public sector employment: evidence from Finnish data on twins," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(5), pages 605-619, September.

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