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  3. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
  4. February 2020
  5. Teacher Value Added in a Low-Income Country

Teacher Value Added in a Low-Income Country

  • Natalie Bau
  • Jishnu Das
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
vol. 12, no. 1, February 2020
(pp. 62-96)
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Abstract

Using data from Pakistan, we show that existing methods produce unbiased and reliable estimates of teacher value added (TVA) despite significant differences in context. Although effective teachers increase learning substantially, observed teacher characteristics account for less than 5 percent of the variation in TVA. The first two years of tenure and content knowledge correlate with TVA in our sample. Wages for public sector teachers do not correlate with TVA, although they do in the private sector. Finally, teachers newly entering on temporary contracts with 35 percent lower wages have similar distributions of TVA to the permanent teaching workforce.

Citation

Bau, Natalie, and Jishnu Das. 2020. "Teacher Value Added in a Low-Income Country." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 12 (1): 62-96. DOI: 10.1257/pol.20170243

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • I21 Analysis of Education
  • J31 Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
  • J41 Labor Contracts
  • J45 Public Sector Labor Markets
  • O15 Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
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