The Political Economy of the Linear Earnings Profile for Teachers in Korea

Abstract

In Korea, teachers salaries continuously grow with seniority until they reach the retiring point. We argue that not only the theory of human capital but also the theories of delayed payment contracts fail to explain for this pattern. We then explore an alternative explanation based on the political economic interpretation. We argue that the previous regimes of Korea have utilized the linear earnings profile by casting parts of their financial cost for hiring qualified teachers onto the next regime, or the next generations, in the process of rapid expansion of the educational system.