Are Public School Teachers Overpaid?
New Evidence on Salaries, Benefits and Job Security
Andrew G. Biggs, Andrew P. Kelly
November 01, 2011

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The public commonly accepts that public school teachers are “desperately underpaid,” in the words of Education Secretary Arne Duncan, and that raising teacher pay should be a priority of education reform. But is this true? AEI Resident Scholar Andrew Biggs and Heritage Foundation Senior Policy Analyst Jason Richwine will provide new data on teacher salaries, fringe benefits and job security that point to significantly more value in teachers’ total compensation packages than was previously evident. Although some teachers may be underpaid, the data suggest the majority are receiving higher pay than they would be likely to receive in private-sector employment.

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About the Author

 

Andrew G.
Biggs

  • Andrew G. Biggs is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he studies Social Security reform, state and local government pensions, and public sector pay and benefits.

    Before joining AEI, Biggs was the principal deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA), where he oversaw SSA’s policy research efforts. In 2005, as an associate director of the White House National Economic Council, he worked on Social Security reform. In 2001, he joined the staff of the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security. Biggs has been interviewed on radio and television as an expert on retirement issues and on public vs. private sector compensation. He has published widely in academic publications as well as in daily newspapers such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. He has also testified before Congress on numerous occasions. In 2013, the Society of Actuaries appointed Biggs co-vice chair of a blue ribbon panel tasked with analyzing the causes of underfunding in public pension plans and how governments can securely fund plans in the future.

    Biggs holds a bachelor’s degree from Queen's University Belfast in Northern Ireland, master’s degrees from Cambridge University and the University of London, and a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics.

  • Phone: 202-862-5841
    Email: andrew.biggs@aei.org

  • Assistant Info

    Name: Neal McCray
    Phone: 202-862-5826
    Email: neal.mccray@aei.org
Show More | See Full Profile

 

Andrew P.
Kelly
Show More | See Full Profile

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Tuesday, August 06, 2013 | 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Uniting universal coverage and personal choice: A new direction for health reform

Join some of the authors, along with notable health scholars from the left and right, for the release of “Best of Both Worlds: Uniting Universal Coverage and Personal Choice in Health Care,” and a new debate over the priorities and policies that will most effectively reform health care.

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