Seminar by Dinand Webbink

Palazzo Levi Cases, 1st floor, via del Santo 33 - 12.30

04.10.2016

Seminar by Dinand Webbink, School of Economics, Erasmus University, Rotterdam

Do higher salaries yield better teachers and better student outcomes?

This study investigates the effects of a policy program aimed at attracting more experienced and better qualified teachers in primary schools in disadvantaged neighborhoods in Uruguay. Teachers could earn substantially higher salaries by working in these schools. Estimates from regression discontinuity models show that the policy was successful in reallocating experienced teachers. We find that the experience of the teaching staff increased with two to three years in the targeted schools. However, the effect of the program on student performance appears to be small. Sorting of teachers or the typical ‘productivity-experience profiles’ of teachers might explain the modest effect on student performance.