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Do Teacher Strikes Harm Educational Attainment of Students?
Author(s) -
Belot Michèle,
Webbink Dinand
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
labour
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.403
H-Index - 34
eISSN - 1467-9914
pISSN - 1121-7081
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9914.2010.00494.x
Subject(s) - salary , flemish , educational attainment , harm , demographic economics , repetition (rhetorical device) , politics , labour economics , political science , psychology , mathematics education , economics , economic growth , social psychology , geography , law , linguistics , philosophy , archaeology
This paper investigates the effects of a teacher strike on student achievement. From May 1990 until November 1990 teachers in the French community of Belgium stroked to obtain a salary increase. We exploit the political division of Belgium in a French community and a Flemish community, with similar educational institutions, for estimating the long‐term effects of the strikes. Based on a difference‐in‐differences approach, using data from two different surveys, we find some evidence that the strikes reduced educational attainment and increased class repetition. We also find that the strikes led to a significant reallocation of students to a lower level of higher education. Overall, the results suggest that teacher strikes can lead to substantial costs for those not involved in the conflict.