The career paths of a sample of 5,100 White North Carolina teachers were analyzed using hazards modeling. Subject specialties, lower salaries, and National Teacher Examination scores were important predictors of secondary teacher turnover. Elementary school teachers were less likely to leave overall and more likely to return to teaching. (SK)

The shift to service occupations and technological changes contributed to a dramatic decrease in earnings of male high school graduates. Because family income is a strong predictor of educational attainment, educational reforms and policy initiatives for disadvantaged children are extremely important to improve their earnings prospects. (SK)

The framework of microeconomics is used to account for the short lives of most merit pay plans. The authors demonstrate that teaching is not an activity that satisfies the conditions under which performance-based pay is an efficient method of compensating workers. (Author/CT)