With Drs. Anna Moyer and Francisco A. Santelli.
ABSTRACT
Opportunity cost related to wages may explain the underrepresentation of teachers of color within education. However, estimating the opportunity cost of teachers’ wages has conceptual and data challenges, especially for smaller racial and ethnic subgroups. We seek to understand whether opportunity wages for teachers differ by racial and ethnic identity over time. We use data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and employ a matching approach to provide realistic estimates of opportunity wages for teachers. We find some evidence of heterogeneity in the opportunity wages of teachers across racial and ethnic groups.
ABSTRACT
Opportunity cost related to wages may explain the underrepresentation of teachers of color within education. However, estimating the opportunity cost of teachers’ wages has conceptual and data challenges, especially for smaller racial and ethnic subgroups. We seek to understand whether opportunity wages for teachers differ by racial and ethnic identity over time. We use data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and employ a matching approach to provide realistic estimates of opportunity wages for teachers. We find some evidence of heterogeneity in the opportunity wages of teachers across racial and ethnic groups.