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Do higher salaries yield better teachers and better student outcomes?

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  • Cabrera, José María
  • Webbink, Dinand

Abstract

We study the effects of a policy aimed at attracting more experienced and better qualified teachers in primary schools in disadvantaged neighborhoods in Uruguay. Teachers in these schools could earn higher salaries. Estimates from regression discontinuity models show that the policy increased experience by two to three years. The policy was especially successful in ‘hiring experience from other schools’, but also increased tenure. However, the effect on student outcomes appears to be small. The distinction between ‘hiring or keeping’ teachers seems important for explaining this result. Keeping teachers appears to be more beneficial for students than hiring experienced teachers. We also find that the effect of the policy is better for schools that replaced teachers with less than five years of experience.

Suggested Citation

  • Cabrera, José María & Webbink, Dinand, 2018. "Do higher salaries yield better teachers and better student outcomes?," MPRA Paper 86972, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:86972
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    3. Fleck, Lara & Somers, Melline & Stolp, Tom & Groot, Wim & van Merode, Frits & de Vries, Ralph, 2023. "The Effectiveness of Interventions to Increase Employment in Education and Healthcare: A Systematic Literature Review," Research Memorandum 010, Maastricht University, Graduate School of Business and Economics (GSBE).
    4. Ralph Stinebrickner & Todd Stinebrickner & Paul Sullivan, 2019. "Beauty, Job Tasks, and Wages: A New Conclusion about Employer Taste-Based Discrimination," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 101(4), pages 602-615, October.
    5. Pamela Giustinelli, 2022. "Expectations in Education: Framework, Elicitation, and Evidence," Working Papers 2022-026, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    6. Grönqvist, Erik & Hensvik, Lena & Thoresson, Anna, 2020. "Teacher career opportunities and school quality," Working Paper Series 2020:2, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    7. David Boto-García & Marta Escalonilla, 2022. "University education, mismatched jobs: are there gender differences in the drivers of overeducation?," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 39(3), pages 861-902, October.
    8. Hugh Cassidy & Amanda Gaulke, 2024. "The increasing penalty to occupation‐education mismatch," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 62(2), pages 607-632, April.
    9. Fleck, Lara & Somers, Melline & Stolp, Tom & Groot, Wim & Van Merode, F & de Vries, Ralph, 2023. "The Effectiveness of Interventions to Increase Employment in Education and Healthcare: A Systematic Literature Review," ROA Research Memorandum 003, Maastricht University, Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA).
    10. Navarini, Lorenzo & Verhaest, Dieter, 2024. "Returns to Education and Overeducation Risk: A Dynamic Model," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1456, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    11. Bucheli, Marisa & González, Cecilia, 2024. "Investment in human capital by socioeconomic status in Uruguay," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 27(C).
    12. Domnisoru, Ciprian, 2023. "The G.I. Bill and Underemployment," IZA Discussion Papers 16444, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    teacher salaries; teacher experience; student performance; disadvantaged students.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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