Competition and Reward Practices: Evidence from Public Schools
研究公立学校校长面临的竞争如何影响其使用绩效薪酬和差异化分配，发现竞争加剧时校长更倾向用财务奖励吸引教师，并优先奖励易衡量的学生成绩和教师能力。
ABSTRACT We examine the relationship between competition and reward practices in the public education sector. We hypothesize and find that school principals who face more intense competition make greater use of performance-based financial rewards and apply greater differentiation in its distribution between higher versus lower performing teachers. However, we do not find similar evidence for nonfinancial rewards. Further analyses suggest that financial rewards help attract and retain teachers in the face of competition. We also hypothesize and find that, as competition intensifies, principals direct incentives toward student outcomes that are easier to measure and communicate (student achievement) as well as their key determinant (teacher competence), relative to outcomes that are harder to measure and communicate (student well-being and engagement). Our findings suggest that school principals view financial incentives as effective for gaining a competitive edge and that competition can influence the relative importance they place on different student outcomes. JEL Classifications: M41; M50; H75.