School Competition and Teacher Labor Markets: Evidence from Charter School Entry in North Carolina

Clement (Kirabo) Jackson, Northwestern University

Abstract

We analyze changes in teacher turnover, hiring, effectiveness, and salaries at traditional public schools after the opening of a nearby charter school. While we find small effects on turnover overall, difficult to staff schools (low-income, high-minority share) hired fewer new teachers and experienced small declines in teacher quality. We also find evidence of a demand side response where schools increased teacher salaries to better retain quality teachers. Our results are robust across a variety of alternate specifications to account for non-random charter entry.