CAREER PATHS AND QUIT DECISIONS - EVIDENCE FROM TEACHING

Conventional models predict that workers consider employment opportuni ties and monetary rewards expected over their lifetimes when making cu rrent period decisions such as whether to quit a job. This article tes ts the hypothesis that later career opportunities affect quit decision s by examining the relationship between teaching and school administra tion. Evidence on the extent to which administrative positions are ava ilable to teachers, and the salary premia associated with them, is pre sented. Discrete time legit-hazard models of teacher quits, estimated using data from New York State, provide some support for the hypothesi s, though the magnitudes of the estimated effects are small.