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The Economics and Politics of Teacher Merit Pay

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  • Andrew Leigh

Abstract

The debate over merit pay can be summed up as follows: economists like it, voters love it, and teachers are divided. Can merit pay be made to work? I survey three sets of data that are relevant to answering this question: impact studies of teacher merit-pay schemes, evidence on teacher attitudes to merit pay, and surveys of attitudes in the general public to merit pay. Looking at the existing merit-pay plans, one is struck by the fact that their incentive schemes are often very complicated, and most estimates are of short-run effects (so do not capture selection into the teaching profession). Teacher attitudes are mixed, with new teachers more open to merit pay than their more experienced colleagues. Teachers are particularly hostile to merit-pay schemes based on test scores, raising a particular challenge for the political sustainability of such plans. I conclude with 10 suggestions for future research on teacher merit pay. Copyright The Author 2012. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Ifo Institute for Economic Research, Munich. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com, Oxford University Press.

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  • Andrew Leigh, 2013. "The Economics and Politics of Teacher Merit Pay," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo Group, vol. 59(1), pages 1-33, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:cesifo:v:59:y:2013:i:1:p:1-33
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/cesifo/ifs007
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    Cited by:

    1. Andrew Leigh, 2013. "Revenge of the Nerds: The Economics of Education Reform," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 46(2), pages 227-233, June.
    2. Eric A. Hanushek & Marc Piopiunik & Simon Wiederhold, 2014. "International Evidence on Teacher Cognitive Skills and Student Performance," CID Working Papers 63, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    3. Piopiunik, Marc & Hanushek, Eric A. & Wiederhold, Simon, 2014. "The Impact of Teacher Skills on Student Performance across Countries," VfS Annual Conference 2014 (Hamburg): Evidence-based Economic Policy 100356, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    4. Eric A. Hanushek & Marc Piopiunik & Simon Wiederhold, 2019. "The Value of Smarter Teachers: International Evidence on Teacher Cognitive Skills and Student Performance," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 54(4), pages 857-899.
    5. Bjork, Christopher & Susanti, Dewi, 2023. "Can community participation leverage changes in teacher behavior? Evidence from remote areas of Indonesia," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    6. Berlinski, Samuel & Ramos, Alejandra, 2020. "Teacher mobility and merit pay: Evidence from a voluntary public award program," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).

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