Pay levels for public sector workers—and especially teachers—are a constant source of controversy.
In many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, protests and strikes suggest that pay is low, while simple
comparisons to average national income per capita suggest that it is high. This study presents data
on teacher earnings from 15 African countries. The results suggest that in several (seven) countries,
teachers’ monthly earnings are lower than other formal sector workers with comparable levels of
education and experience. However, in all of those countries, teachers report working significantly
fewer hours than other workers, so that their hourly earnings are higher. Teachers who report
fewer hours are no more likely to report holding a second job, although teachers overall are nearly
two times more likely to hold a second job than other workers. With higher national incomes, the
absolute value of teacher earnings rises, but they fall as a percentage of income per capita. The study
explores variation across types of teacher contracts, the association between teacher earnings and
student performance, and the association between teacher earnings premia and other aspects of
economies.
The order of author names was randomly assigned using the American Economic Association’s author randomization tool.
This paper was originally published in August 2020. It was revised June 2021. The original version can be viewed here.
