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Do Teachers' Labor Contracts Matter?

Author

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  • Aparicio Fenoll, Ainoa

    (University of Turin)

  • Quaranta, Roberto

    (Collegio Carlo Alberto)

Abstract

Previous literature on the effect of tenured and tenure-track vs. non-tenure-track professors on students' performance at university finds contrasting results. Our paper is the first to test whether tenured/tenure-track and non-tenure-track teachers differently affect students' performance at school. We use data on standardized test scores of a representative sample of primary and secondary school students in Italy and information on their Italian and mathematics teachers' labor contracts. Controlling for class- and subject-fixed effects, we find that non-tenure-track teachers decrease students' performance by 0.21 standard deviation. This detrimental effect is fully explained because non-tenure-track teachers are less experienced. In line with previous findings on the adverse effects of teachers' absences, non-tenure-track teachers are also associated with 0.1 standard deviation worse student performance when their contracts last less than a year.

Suggested Citation

  • Aparicio Fenoll, Ainoa & Quaranta, Roberto, 2023. "Do Teachers' Labor Contracts Matter?," IZA Discussion Papers 16380, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16380
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Papay, John P. & Kraft, Matthew A., 2015. "Productivity returns to experience in the teacher labor market: Methodological challenges and new evidence on long-term career improvement," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 105-119.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    teachers; labor contracts; students' performance; standardized tests;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J41 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Labor Contracts
    • H52 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Education

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