Abstract:
Teacher collective bargaining is a highly debated feature of theeducation system in the US. This paper presents the firstanalysis of the effect of teacher collective bargaining laws onlong-run labor market and educational attainment outcomes,exploiting the timing of passage of duty-to-bargain laws acrosscohorts within states and across states over time. UsingAmerican Community Survey data linked to each respondent's stateof birth, we examine labor market outcomes and educationalattainment for 35-49 year-olds, separately by gender. We findrobust evidence that exposure to teacher collective bargaininglaws worsens the future labor market outcomes of men: in thefirst 10 years after passage of a duty-to-bargain law, maleearnings decline by $2,134 (or 3.93%) per year and hours workeddecrease by 0.42 hours per week. The earnings estimates for menindicate that teacher collective bargaining reduces earnings by$213.8 billion in the US annually. We also find evidence oflower male employment rates, which is driven by lower labor forceparticipation. Exposure to collective bargaining laws leads toreductions in the skill levels of the occupations into which maleworkers sort as well. Effects are largest among black andHispanic men. Estimates among women are often confounded bysecular trend variation, though we do find suggestive evidence ofnegative impacts among nonwhite women. Using data from the 1979National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we demonstrate thatcollective bargaining laws lead to reductions in measurednon-cognitive skills among young men.Gated copy here.
