Teacher Labour Markets during an Era of Economic Boom
China through 1979–2019
Routledge Series on Learners, Teachers, and the Economy Series

This book sets out to examine the underlying educational implications of rapid economic transformation, using illustrative analyses of teacher labour markets during the years of unprecedented economic growth in China.

Combining historic document archive and empirical micro-level quantitative data, the book examines trends in teacher labour market and their relevant consequences by investigating wage-attractiveness of the teaching profession, consequential shifts in the composition of the teacher force, implications for student learning, and emerging alternative career destinations for teacher exits. While this book focuses on a specific country case, its analytic context is broadly relevant for a range of developing countries that aspire to better understand, through an occupational choice lens, how shifting economic landscapes influence teacher career decisions and consequentially teacher quality and student learning.

Teacher policy scholars, comparative education researchers, labour economists, economic and education historians, teacher union researchers, and education policy makers will find this volume of interest.

1 Introduction 2 Economic and Educational Development in China 3 Theorizing Wages and Teacher Occupational Choice 4 Pre-1979 Teacher Wage Policies 5 Post-1979 Teacher Wage Policies 6 Documenting Teacher Wage Characteristics 7 Impact of Wage Dynamics on Teacher Labour Markets 8 Impact of Teachers on Student Learning 9 Alternative Careers and Non-Pecuniary Teacher Welfare 10 Conclusion and Way Forward

Ji Liu is a professor of comparative education and economics of education at Shaanxi Normal University, and is interested in education policy research at the intersection of teachers, learners, skills, and the economy. He was a consultant at the World Bank Group and part of the World Development Report team. He has published widely, including peer-reviewed articles on top-tier scholarly journals such as Oxford Review of Education, International Journal of Educational Development and Teachers College Record. He earned his Ph.D. from Columbia University in New York City, USA, and holds academic appointment as adjunct faculty of Teachers College, Columbia University, and appointment as senior research associate at NORRAG, The Graduate Institute in Geneva. He was also named a Forbes China 30 Under 30 laureate.