Are Teachers in Africa Poorly Paid? Evidence from 15 Countries

Evans, David K. ; Yuan, Fei ; Filmer, Deon

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: TEACHER INCENTIVES;    TEACHER PAY;    EDUCATION OUTCOMES;    PUBLIC SECTOR WAGE;    LABOR MARKET;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-9358
RP-ID  :  WPS9358

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Pay levels for public sector workers—andespecially teachers—are a constant source of controversy. Inmany countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, protests and strikessuggest that pay is low, while simple comparisons to averagenational income per capita suggest that it is high. Thisstudy presents data on teacher pay from 15 Africancountries, along with five comparator countries from otherregions. The results suggest that in several (seven)countries, teachers' monthly salaries are lower thanother formal sector workers with comparable levels ofeducation and experience. However, in all of thosecountries, teachers report working significantly fewer hoursthan other workers, so that their hourly wage is higher.Teachers who report fewer hours are no more likely to reportholding a second job, although teachers overall are nearlytwo times more likely to hold a second job than otherworkers. With higher national incomes, the absolute value ofteacher salaries rises, but they fall as a percentage ofincome per capita. The study explores variation across typesof teacher contracts, the association between teacher payand student performance, and the association between teacherpay premia and other aspects of economies.