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Collective Bargaining and School District Test Scores: Evidence from Ohio Bargaining Agreements

Author

Listed:
  • Joshua C. Hall

    (West Virginia University, Department of Economics)

  • Donald Lacombe

    (West Virginia University, Department of Economics)

  • Joylynn Pruitt

    (West Virginia University, Department of Economics)

Abstract

We revisit the relationship between collective bargaining by teachers unions and school performance. The empirical literature in this area has found mixed results at both the state and district levels. We contribute to this literature in two ways. First, rather than simply dummy union status, we proxy for the restrictiveness of collective bargaining agreements with the number of pages per agreement. Second, we employ Bayesian spatial methods to deal with spatial dependence in school district activities. Our reduced-form results indicate that collective bargaining directly lowers scores on high school math scores, but that the total effect is zero.

Suggested Citation

  • Joshua C. Hall & Donald Lacombe & Joylynn Pruitt, 2016. "Collective Bargaining and School District Test Scores: Evidence from Ohio Bargaining Agreements," Working Papers 16-03, Department of Economics, West Virginia University.
    • Handle: RePEc:wvu:wpaper:16-03
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    File URL: https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1184&context=econ_working-papers
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bentley Coffey & Patrick McLaughlin & Robert Tollison, 2012. "Regulators and Redskins," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 153(1), pages 191-204, October.
    2. Caroline Minter Hoxby, 1996. "How Teachers' Unions Affect Education Production," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 111(3), pages 671-718.
    3. Randall W. Eberts, 1984. "Union Effects on Teacher Productivity," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 37(3), pages 346-358, April.
    4. Joshua Hall, 2007. "Local School Finance and Productive Efficiency: Evidence from Ohio," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 35(3), pages 289-301, September.
    5. Joshua C. Hall & Peter T. Leeson, 2010. "Racial Fractionalization and School Performance," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 69(2), pages 736-758, April.
    6. Hanushek, Eric A, 1986. "The Economics of Schooling: Production and Efficiency in Public Schools," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 24(3), pages 1141-1177, September.
    7. Peltzman, Sam, 1993. "The Political Economy of the Decline of American Public Education," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(1), pages 331-370, April.
    8. LeSage, James P., 1997. "Regression Analysis of Spatial Data," Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy, Mid-Continent Regional Science Association, vol. 27(2), pages 1-12.
    9. Anderson, Gary M. & Shughart, William II & Tollison, Robert D., 1991. "Educational achievement and the cost of bureaucracy," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 29-45, January.
    10. Randall W. Eberts & Joe A. Stone, 1987. "Teacher Unions and the Productivity of Public Schools," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 40(3), pages 354-363, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. McCannon, Bryan & Zhou, Yang & Hall, Joshua, 2021. "Measuring a Contract’s Breadth: A Text Analysis," Working Papers 11013, George Mason University, Mercatus Center.
    2. Bryan McCannon & Joshua Hall & Yang Zhou, 2023. "Measuring a contract's breadth: A text analysis," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 82(1), pages 5-14, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    collective bargaining; teachers unions; education production function;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J50 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - General
    • H1 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education

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