Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/265753 
Year of Publication: 
2022
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 15532
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
This paper investigates the role of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in choosing a teaching career using data from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia. We find that the opportunity costs of becoming a teacher vary by gender: women enjoy a small wage premium, whilst males suffer a large wage penalty. We also find that non-monetary aspects and job amenities (such as motivation for the job, job security, and work/family life balance) have a different influence on teaching careers by gender, which can influence the sorting of male and female teachers across government and private schools. Notwithstanding evidence of positive selection into teaching in terms of cognitive ability and motivation for the job, the asymmetries in opportunity costs and non-monetary aspects reveal that introducing differentiated contracts tailored to gender preferences may influence teachers' recruitment by gender. However, we caution that such prospective initiatives need to balance the trade-off between attracting talented and motivated individuals into teaching and promoting gender equality, which arises from the data.
Subjects: 
decomposition
Australia
incentives
teacher
JEL: 
I21
J16
J24
J31
M52
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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