Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current
    • Ahead of print
    • Archive
    • Supplementary Material
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Subscribers
    • Institutions
    • Advertisers
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
  • Connect
    • Feedback
    • Help
    • Request JHR at your library
  • Alerts
  • Call for Editor
  • Free Issue
  • Special Issue
  • Other Publications
    • UWP

User menu

  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Journal of Human Resources
  • Other Publications
    • UWP
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart
Journal of Human Resources

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current
    • Ahead of print
    • Archive
    • Supplementary Material
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Subscribers
    • Institutions
    • Advertisers
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
  • Connect
    • Feedback
    • Help
    • Request JHR at your library
  • Alerts
  • Call for Editor
  • Free Issue
  • Special Issue
  • Follow uwp on Twitter
  • Follow JHR on Bluesky
Research ArticleArticles

Local Labor Markets and Selection into the Teaching Profession

Christa Deneault
Published online before print October 08, 2025, 0424-13535R2; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.0424-13535R2
Christa Deneault
*Christa Deneault is a Senior Research Economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, email:
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: christa.deneault{at}dal.frb.org
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Supplemental
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF
Loading

References

    1. Acton, R. K.
    (2021). Community college program choices in the wake of local job losses. Journal of Labor Economics, 39(4):000–000.
    OpenUrl
    1. Agency, T. E.
    (2022a). Becoming a classroom teacher in texas. https://tea.texas.gov/texas-educators/certification/initial-certification/becoming-a-classroom-teacher-in-texas. Accessed 2022.
    1. Agency, T. E.
    (2022b). Requirements for certified educators and non-certified employees. https://tea.texas.gov/texas-educators/investigations/fingerprinting/requirements-for-certified-educators-and-non-certified-employees. Accessed 2022.
  1. AIR (2018). Grow your own teachers initiatives resources. Technical report, Texas Comprehensive Center, American Institutes for Research.
    1. Bacolod, M. P.
    (2007). Do alternative opportunities matter? the role of female labor markets in the decline of teacher quality. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 89(4):737–751.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Baker, R.,
    2. Bettinger, E.,
    3. Jacob, B., and
    4. Marinescu, I.
    (2018). The effect of labor market information on community college students’ major choice. Economics of Education Review, 65:18–30.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Beffy, M.,
    2. Fougere, D., and
    3. Maurel, A.
    (2012). Choosing the field of study in postsecondary education: Do expected earnings matter? Review of Economics and Statistics, 94(1):334–347.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Berger, M. C.
    (1988). Predicted future earnings and choice of college major. ILR Review, 41(3):418–429.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Bettinger, E.
    (2010). To be or not to be: Major choices in budding scientists. In American universities in a global market, pages 69–98. University of Chicago Press.
    1. Biasi, B.
    (2021). The labor market for teachers under different pay schemes. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 13(3):63–102.
    OpenUrl
    1. Blom, E.,
    2. Cadena, B. C., and
    3. Keys, B. J.
    (2021). Investment over the business cycle: Insights from college major choice. Journal of Labor Economics, 39(4):1043–1082.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Bradley, E. S.
    (2012). The effect of the business cycle on freshman major choice.
    1. Britton, J. and
    2. Propper, C.
    (2016). Teacher pay and school productivity: Exploiting wage regulation. Journal of Public Economics, 133:75–89.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Carrell, S. E.,
    2. Page, M. E., and
    3. West, J. E.
    (2010). Sex and science: How professor gender perpetuates the gender gap. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 125(3):1101–1144.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Chetty, R.,
    2. Friedman, J. N., and
    3. Rockoff, J. E.
    (2014a). Measuring the impacts of teachers i: Evaluating bias in teacher value-added estimates. American Economic Review, 104(9):2593–2632.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Chetty, R.,
    2. Friedman, J. N., and
    3. Rockoff, J. E.
    (2014b). Measuring the impacts of teachers ii: Teacher value-added and student outcomes in adulthood. American economic review, 104(9):2633–79.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Chingos, M. M.,
    2. Whitehurst, G. J., and
    3. Lindquist, K. M.
    (2014). School superintendents: Vital or irrelevant. Brown Center on Education Policy at Brookings, pages 1–16.
    1. Clotfelter, C.,
    2. Glennie, E.,
    3. Ladd, H., and
    4. Vigdor, J.
    (2008). Would higher salaries keep teachers in high-poverty schools? evidence from a policy intervention in north carolina. Journal of Public Economics, 92(5-6):1352–1370.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
    1. Clotfelter, C. T.,
    2. Ladd, H. F., and
    3. Vigdor, J. L.
    (2011). Teacher mobility, school segregation, and pay-based policies to level the playing field. Education Finance and Policy, 6(3):399–438.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
    1. Conlon, J. J.
    (2021). Major malfunction: A field experiment correcting undergraduates’ beliefs about salaries. Journal of Human Resources, pages 0317–8599R2.
    1. Dennis, Earl
    (2023). How to Become a Private School Teacher in Texas. https://texestest.org/texas-teacher-certification/texas-private-school-teachers/#:~:text=Although%20private%20school%20teachers%20in,varied%20Texas%20private%20school%20environment.
    1. Dohmen, T. and
    2. Falk, A.
    (2010). You get what you pay for: Incentives and selection in the education system. The Economic Journal, 120(546):F256–F271.
    OpenUrl
    1. Ersoy, F. Y.
    (2020). The effects of the great recession on college majors. Economics of Education Review, 77:102018.
    OpenUrl
    1. Figlio, D. N.
    (2002). Can public schools buy better-qualified teachers? ILR Review, 55(4):686–699.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Foote, A. and
    2. Grosz, M.
    (2020). The effect of local labor market downturns on postsecondary enrollment and program choice. Education Finance and Policy, 15(4):593–622.
    OpenUrl
    1. Fraenkel, R. C.
    (2022). Local labor markets and job match quality: Teachers. Labour Economics, 78:102240.
    OpenUrl
    1. Freeman, R. B.
    (1975). Legal” cobwebs”: A recursive model of the market for new lawyers. The review of economics and statistics, pages 171–179.
    1. Garcia, A.
    (2020). Grow your own teachers: A 50-state scan of policies and programs. New America.
    1. Goldhaber, D.,
    2. Gross, B., and
    3. Player, D.
    (2011). Teacher career paths, teacher quality, and persistence in the classroom: Are public schools keeping their best? Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 30(1):57–87.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Hastings, J. S.,
    2. Neilson, C. A.,
    3. Ramirez, A., and
    4. Zimmerman, S. D.
    (2016). (un) informed college and major choice: Evidence from linked survey and administrative data. Economics of Education Review, 51:136–151.
    OpenUrl
    1. Hendricks, M. D.
    (2014). Does it pay to pay teachers more? evidence from texas. Journal of Public Economics, 109:50–63.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Hoxby, C. M. and
    2. Leigh, A.
    (2004). Pulled away or pushed out? explaining the decline of teacher aptitude in the united states. American Economic Review, 94(2):236–240.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Jackson, C. K.
    (2012). Recruiting, retaining, and creating quality teachers. Nordic Economic Policy Review, 3(1):61–104.
    OpenUrl
    1. Jackson, C. K.
    (2018). What do test scores miss? the importance of teacher effects on non-test score outcomes. Journal of Political Economy, 126(5):2072–2107.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Johnston, A. C.
    (2025). Preferences, selection, and the structure of teacher pay. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 17(3):310–346.
    OpenUrl
    1. Kane, T. J. and
    2. Staiger, D. O.
    (2008). Estimating teacher impacts on student achievement: An experimental evaluation. Technical report, National Bureau of Economic Research.
    1. Kennedy, P.
    (2008). A guide to econometrics. John Wiley & Sons.
    1. Koedel, C.,
    2. Mihaly, K., and
    3. Rockoff, J. E.
    (2015). Value-added modeling: A review. Economics of Education Review, 47:180–195.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Kopelman, J. L. and
    2. Rosen, H. S.
    (2016). Are public sector jobs recession-proof? were they ever? Public Finance Review, 44(3):370–396.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Kraft, M. A.,
    2. Brunner, E. J.,
    3. Dougherty, S. M., and
    4. Schwegman, D. J.
    (2020). Teacher accountability reforms and the supply and quality of new teachers. Journal of Public Economics, 188:104212.
    OpenUrl
    1. Lang, K. and
    2. Palacios, M. D.
    (2018). The determinants of teachers’ occupational choice. Technical report, National Bureau of Economic Research.
    1. Leigh, A.
    (2012). Teacher pay and teacher aptitude. Economics of education review, 31(3):41–53.
    OpenUrl
    1. Leu, K.
    (2017). Beginning college students who change their majors within 3 years of enrollment. data point. nces 2018-434. National Center for Education Statistics.
    1. Liu, S.,
    2. Sun, W., and
    3. Winters, J. V.
    (2019). Up in stem, down in business: changing college major decisions with the great recession. Contemporary Economic Policy, 37(3):476–491.
    OpenUrl
    1. Loeb, S. and
    2. Page, M. E.
    (2000). Examining the link between teacher wages and student outcomes: The importance of alternative labor market opportunities and non-pecuniary variation. Review of Economics and Statistics, 82(3):393–408.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
    1. Long, M. C.,
    2. Goldhaber, D., and
    3. Huntington-Klein, N.
    (2015). Do completed college majors respond to changes in wages? Economics of Education Review, 49:1–14.
    OpenUrl
    1. Malmendier, U. and
    2. Nagel, S.
    (2011). Depression babies: do macroeconomic experiences affect risk taking? The quarterly journal of economics, 126(1):373–416.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
    1. Mansour, H.,
    2. Rees, D. I.,
    3. Rintala, B. M., and
    4. Wozny, N. N.
    (2018). The effects of professor gender on the postgraduation outcomes of female students. ILR Review, page 0019793921994832.
    1. Markow, D. and
    2. Pieters, A.
    (2012). Teachers, parents, and the economy: A survey of teachers, parents, and students.
    1. Meier, A. N.
    (2022). Emotions and risk attitudes. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 14(3):527–58.
    OpenUrl
    1. Murphy, F.,
    2. Ruh, D., and
    3. Turner, S.
    (2020). Work boots to combat boots: Mass layoffs and military enlistment. Technical report, Working Paper. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia.
    1. Nagler, M.,
    2. Piopiunik, M., and
    3. West, M. R.
    (2020). Weak markets, strong teachers: Recession at career start and teacher effectiveness. Journal of Labor Economics, 38(2):453–500.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Patnaik, A.,
    2. Wiswall, M., and
    3. Zafar, B.
    (2021). College majors 1. The Routledge handbook of the economics of education, pages 415–457.
    1. Patterson, R.,
    2. Pope, N., and
    3. Feudo, A.
    (2019). Timing is everything: Evidence from college major decisions.
    1. Porter, C. and
    2. Serra, D.
    (2020). Gender differences in the choice of major: The importance of female role models. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 12(3):226–54.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Reininger, M.
    (2012). Hometown disadvantage? it depends on where you’re from: Teachers’ location preferences and the implications for staffing schools. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 34(2):127–145.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
    1. Saks, R. E. and
    2. Shore, S. H.
    (2005). Risk and career choice. The BE Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 5(1).
  2. U.S. Department of Education, O. o. P. E. (2017). Teacher shortage areas nationwide listing 1990–1991 through 2017–2018.
    1. Warner-Griffin, C.,
    2. Cunningham, B. C., and
    3. Noel, A.
    (2018). Public school teacher, autonomy, satisfaction, job security, and commitment: 1999–2000 and 2011–12. National Center for Education Statistics, pages 1999–2000.
    1. Weinstein, R.
    (2020). Local labor markets and human capital investments. Journal of Human Resources, pages 1119–10566R2.
    1. Wiswall, M.
    (2013). The dynamics of teacher quality. Journal of Public Economics, 100:61–78.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
    1. Wiswall, M. and
    2. Zafar, B.
    (2015a). Determinants of college major choice: Identification using an information experiment. The Review of Economic Studies, 82(2):791–824.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Wiswall, M. and
    2. Zafar, B.
    (2015b). How do college students respond to public information about earnings? Journal of Human Capital, 9(2):117–169.
    OpenUrl
    1. Xia, X.
    (2016). Forming wage expectations through learning: Evidence from college major choices. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 132:176–196.
    OpenUrl
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

Journal of Human Resources: 60 (6)
Journal of Human Resources
Vol. 60, Issue 6
1 Nov 2025
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • Cover (PDF)
  • Index by author
  • Front Matter (PDF)
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Journal of Human Resources.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Local Labor Markets and Selection into the Teaching Profession
(Your Name) has sent you a message from Journal of Human Resources
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the Journal of Human Resources web site.
Citation Tools
Local Labor Markets and Selection into the Teaching Profession
Christa Deneault
Journal of Human Resources Oct 2025, 0424-13535R2; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.0424-13535R2

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
Local Labor Markets and Selection into the Teaching Profession
Christa Deneault
Journal of Human Resources Oct 2025, 0424-13535R2; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.0424-13535R2
Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One
Bookmark this article

Jump to section

  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Supplemental
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Schools as Safety Nets
  • Quality and selection in regulated professions
  • Tasks and Black-white Inequality over the Long Twentieth Century
Show more Articles

Similar Articles

Keywords

  • E32
  • H75
  • I20
  • J24
  • J45
  • teachers
  • occupational choice
  • college major
  • local labor markets
UW Press logo

© 2025 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System

Powered by HighWire