State-specific licensing policies and pension plans create mobility costs for educators who cross state lines. We empirically test whether these costs affect production in schools--a hypothesis that follows directly from economic theory on labor frictions--using geocoded data on school locations and state boundaries. We find that achievement is…

State-specific licensing policies and pension plans create mobility costs for educators who cross state lines. We empirically test whether these costs affect production in schools--a hypothesis that follows directly from economic theory on labor frictions--using geo-coded data from the lower-48 states. We find that achievement is lower in…

Educators in public schools in the United States are typically enrolled in defined-benefit pension plans, which penalize across-plan mobility. We use administrative data from Missouri to examine how the mobility penalties affect the labor market for school leaders, and show that pension borders greatly reduce leadership flows across schools. Our…

In response to a journalist inquiry regarding research on funding of Ohio's teacher retirement system and its effect on school district finances, this analysis by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute points to serious questions and profound concerns about the health of Ohio's teacher pension system, and that similar time bombs may be ticking in other…

Policy discussions about teacher quality and teacher "shortages" often focus on recruitment and retention of young teachers. However, attention has begun to focus on the incentive effects of teacher retirement benefit systems, particularly given their rising costs and the large unfunded liabilities. In this paper we analyze accrual of…

Many states are struggling to finance under-funded teacher pension systems as well as recruit and retain a high-quality teaching workforce. This paper compares Maryland's former (prior to Spring, 2006) teacher pension system to those in Pennsylvania and several other states. On the basis of simple replacement rates, the former Maryland state plan…

This book asks whether higher salaries have improved the quality of newly recruited teachers. It reviews data on the characteristics of beginning teachers and shows how important features of the labor market for teachers systematically undermine efforts to improve teacher quality. The text also offers a comparison of personnel policies and…

Presents two views on merit pay. One suggests that the single salary schedule does not suit today's reform environment, explaining how to align teacher compensation with current educational policy. The other notes that the single salary schedule does not let public school managers adjust teachers' pay to reflect performance and market realities,…

A study examined the labor market mobility of displaced workers, using a new data file that matches the January 1984, 1986, and 1988 Displaced Worker Surveys (DWS) to the March Current Population Surveys in the same years. This large database provides information on displaced workers and their families and permits comparison of the geographic…

High rates of unemployment in rural areas poses questions as what education can do with the problem. This report examines the effects of rural American economies as they grow away from agriculture and toward dependence on manufacturing and service industries. Using data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' Displaced Worker Survey, the…

This report presents data on the Missouri teacher labor market, using existing administrative records about the state's public schools, teachers staffing them, and students attending them from 1994-95. Data are presented on: enrollment growth (size and distribution of public school enrollment changes); Missouri's teaching workforce (size and…

Job displacement represents a serious labor market problem affecting a broad spectrum of the labor force. A study used data from the January 1984 Displaced Worker Survey, a supplement to the Current Population Survey, which analyzed patterns of job displacement, the post-displacement reemployment, and earnings experience of displaced workers. The…