Volume 37, Number 4 (Fall) 2002
Hoxby, Caroline M. 2002. "Would School Choice Change the Teaching Profession?" Journal of Human Resources 37(4):846-891.
When parents have some form of school choice. schools should want to hire and keep teachers who help them attract students. Thus. parental freedom to choose schools may affect how schools structure teaching jobs and teachers' pay. This paper investigates whether schools that face choice-based incentives actually do create teaching jobs that are different. Using data on traditional forms of choice (Tiebout choice, choice of private schools) and a new survey of charter school teachers. I find evidence that suggests that choice makes schools place more value on teachers' effort. teachers' independence. the quality of teachers' college education, and teachers' math and science skills.
Caroline Hoxby is a professor of economics at Harvard University. The author gratefully acknowledges the Bodman Foundation's generous support of the charter school teacher survey. The author gratefully acknowledges helpful comments from anonymous referees, Robert Barro, Michael Boozer, Chester Finn, James Heckman, Lawrence Katz. Edward Lazear, Richard Murnane. and Paul Peterson. IIyana Kuziemko. Richard Lemons, Davin Chor; Quincy Evans. Kristin Flink, and Kate Hable provided very able research assistance. With the exception of restricted-access data, the data used in this article can be obtained beginning six months from publication through three years hence from the author. Scholars interested in restricted access should apply to the United States Department of Education or (in the case of the charter school survey data) to the author.
© 2003 by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
US ISSN 0022-166X