Download This PaperTeacher Preferences, Working Conditions, and Compensation Structure
48 Pages Posted: 13 Apr 2020 Last revised: 6 May 2025
There are 2 versions of this paper
Teacher Preferences, Working Conditions, and Compensation Structure
Preferences, Selection, and the Structure of Teacher Pay
Abstract
Improving schools depends on attracting high-caliber teachers and increasing retention, both made possible by appealing to teacher preferences. I deploy a discrete-choice experiment in a setting where teachers have reason to reveal their preferences. There are three main findings: (1) I calculate willingness-to-pay for a series of workplace attributes including salary structure, retirement benefits, performance pay, class size, and time-to-tenure. (2) Highly rated teachers have stronger preferences for schools offering performance pay, which may be used to differentially attract and retain them. (3) Under various criteria, schools seem to underpay in salary and performance pay while overpaying in retirement benefits.
Keywords: retention, achievement, labor market, teachers, selection
JEL Classification: I20, J32, J45, M50
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation