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Reevaluating the effect of non-teaching wages on teacher attrition

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  • Gilpin, Gregory A.

Abstract

Most empirical teacher attrition research focuses on estimating the effect of either the alternate occupation opportunities or the teacher work environment on teacher attrition. In this paper, we use non-teaching wages of former teachers to estimate the determinants of teacher attrition, including the wage differential between teaching and non-teaching occupations, as well as the teacher work environment. The results suggest that the wage differential only matters for inexperienced teachers with less than 6 years of teaching experience, while the work environment affects both inexperienced and experienced teachers. The magnitude of the wage differential is small relative to the effect of the teaching work environment on teachers' exiting decisions. Furthermore, no compensating differentials of sufficient size are found. For inexperienced teachers, a teacher practicum, i.e., student teaching, is found to reduce attrition while certification and education degrees have no effect. Lastly, whether a teacher lives in households with income above $40,000 (excluding their own) significantly increases attrition.

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  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:30:y:2011:i:4:p:598-616
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    2. Vera, Celia Patricia, 2018. "A structural approach to assessing retention policies in public schools," MPRA Paper 90657, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Gilpin, Gregory A., 2012. "Teacher salaries and teacher aptitude: An analysis using quantile regressions," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 15-29.
    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. Claudia Palma-Vasquez & Diego Carrasco & Mónica Tapia-Ladino, 2022. "Teacher Mobility: What Is It, How Is It Measured and What Factors Determine It? A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-22, February.
    6. Sander Gerritsen & Sonny Kuijpers & Marc van der Steeg, 2015. "The effects of higher teacher pay on teacher retention," CPB Discussion Paper 316.rdf, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    7. Sam Sims & Asma Benhenda, 2022. "The effect of financial incentives on the retention of shortage-subject teachers: evidence from England," CEPEO Working Paper Series 22-04, UCL Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities, revised Apr 2022.
    8. Juan Cándido Gómez Gallego & María Concepción Pérez Cárceles & Laura Nieto Torrejón (ed.), 2017. "Investigaciones de Economía de la Educación," E-books Investigaciones de Economía de la Educación, Asociación de Economía de la Educación, edition 1, volume 12, number 12, August.
    9. Dan S. Rickman & Hongbo Wang & John V. Winters, 2017. "Relative Teacher Salaries And The Decision To Teach," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 35(3), pages 542-550, July.
    10. Sander Gerritsen & Sonny Kuijpers & Marc van der Steeg, 2015. "The effects of higher teacher pay on teacher retention," CPB Discussion Paper 316, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    11. Dinand Webbink & José María Cabrera, 2016. "Do higher salaries yield better teachers and better student outcomes?," Documentos de Trabajo/Working Papers 1604, Facultad de Ciencias Empresariales y Economia. Universidad de Montevideo..

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