American Economic Journal:
Economic Policy
ISSN 1945-7731 (Print) | ISSN 1945-774X (Online)
Early Retirement Incentives and Student Achievement
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
(pp. 120–54)
Abstract
Early retirement incentives (ERIs) are increasingly prevalent in education as districts seek to close budget gaps by replacing expensive experienced teachers with lower cost newer teachers. Combined with the aging of the teacher workforce, these ERIs are likely to change the composition of teachers dramatically in the coming years. We use exogenous variation from an ERI program in Illinois in the mid-1990s to provide the first evidence in the literature of the effects of large-scale teacher retirements on student achievement. We find the program did not reduce test scores; likely, it increased them, with positive effects most pronounced in lower SES schools.Citation
Fitzpatrick, Maria D., and Michael F. Lovenheim. 2014. "Early Retirement Incentives and Student Achievement." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 6 (3): 120–54. DOI: 10.1257/pol.6.3.120Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- H75 State and Local Government: Health; Education; Welfare; Public Pensions
- I21 Analysis of Education
- I28 Education: Government Policy
- J26 Retirement; Retirement Policies
- J45 Public Sector Labor Markets