Compensating teachers serving rural schools: evidence from a developing region in southern China
Abstract Desirable working conditions such as geographic accessibilities attached to the job are important amenities for individuals to maximize their occupational utility, and the absence of comfortable working conditions should be equally and adequately compensated. The “compensating wage differen...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer Nature
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-04598-1 |
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| author | Hongmei Ma Wanpeng Lei |
| author_facet | Hongmei Ma Wanpeng Lei |
| author_sort | Hongmei Ma |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Desirable working conditions such as geographic accessibilities attached to the job are important amenities for individuals to maximize their occupational utility, and the absence of comfortable working conditions should be equally and adequately compensated. The “compensating wage differential” hypothesis subsumed by hedonic wage theory offers us the theoretical framework to interpret the relationship between individuals’ earnings and job dis(amenities). In the teacher labor market, job disamenities such as the undesirable geographic location of schools should be compensated to balance the spatial distribution of teachers. The authors tested this idea by employing a unique self-collected dataset, sourced from a representative developing region in southern China. The results showed that teachers’ earnings were positively associated with the geographical unpopularity attached to the rural school where they worked, holding other factors constant. In addition, the result yielded by instrumental variable identification strategy confirmed that teachers’ positive self-selection into rural schools had led to an underestimation of the adverse impact of geographic ruralness on their utility losses. This paper sheds light on how to staff schools located in geographically disadvantaged areas with quality teachers by properly offering economic incentives. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3bb88fa2934c4e8eb619ef5551868d0d |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2662-9992 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Springer Nature |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-3bb88fa2934c4e8eb619ef5551868d0d2025-08-20T02:10:16ZengSpringer NatureHumanities & Social Sciences Communications2662-99922025-03-0112111510.1057/s41599-025-04598-1Compensating teachers serving rural schools: evidence from a developing region in southern ChinaHongmei Ma0Wanpeng Lei1School of Education, Central China Normal UniversityGraduate School, Central China Normal UniversityAbstract Desirable working conditions such as geographic accessibilities attached to the job are important amenities for individuals to maximize their occupational utility, and the absence of comfortable working conditions should be equally and adequately compensated. The “compensating wage differential” hypothesis subsumed by hedonic wage theory offers us the theoretical framework to interpret the relationship between individuals’ earnings and job dis(amenities). In the teacher labor market, job disamenities such as the undesirable geographic location of schools should be compensated to balance the spatial distribution of teachers. The authors tested this idea by employing a unique self-collected dataset, sourced from a representative developing region in southern China. The results showed that teachers’ earnings were positively associated with the geographical unpopularity attached to the rural school where they worked, holding other factors constant. In addition, the result yielded by instrumental variable identification strategy confirmed that teachers’ positive self-selection into rural schools had led to an underestimation of the adverse impact of geographic ruralness on their utility losses. This paper sheds light on how to staff schools located in geographically disadvantaged areas with quality teachers by properly offering economic incentives.https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-04598-1 |
| spellingShingle | Hongmei Ma Wanpeng Lei Compensating teachers serving rural schools: evidence from a developing region in southern China Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| title | Compensating teachers serving rural schools: evidence from a developing region in southern China |
| title_full | Compensating teachers serving rural schools: evidence from a developing region in southern China |
| title_fullStr | Compensating teachers serving rural schools: evidence from a developing region in southern China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Compensating teachers serving rural schools: evidence from a developing region in southern China |
| title_short | Compensating teachers serving rural schools: evidence from a developing region in southern China |
| title_sort | compensating teachers serving rural schools evidence from a developing region in southern china |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-04598-1 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hongmeima compensatingteachersservingruralschoolsevidencefromadevelopingregioninsouthernchina AT wanpenglei compensatingteachersservingruralschoolsevidencefromadevelopingregioninsouthernchina |