The turnover of teachers: A competing risks explanation

In this paper, we analyze the decision by teachers to leave the profession in a dependent competing risks framework. The econometric model allows for a flexible, semiparametric specification of the duration-dependence structu re and of the unobserved heterogeneity distribution in each exit-specific h azard function. Our results obtained for a large sample of UK teachers affi rm the importance of teacher salaries and opportunity wages in the turnover decision of teachers and illustrate the insight gained from differentiatin g between multiple destinations or exit types.