A significant amount of work time is lost each year due to worker absence, but evidence on the productivity losses from absenteeism remains scant due to difficulties with identification. We use uniquely detailed data on the timing, duration, and cause of absences among teachers to address many of the potential biases from the endogeneity of worker absence. Our analysis indicates that worker absences have large negative impacts: the expected loss in daily productivity from employing a temporary substitute is on par with replacing a regular worker of average productivity with one at the 10th–20th percentile of productivity.

This paper presents findings from a national experimental evaluation of performance bonuses funded by the Teacher Incentive Fund grant program. The study finds no robust evidence of positive impacts of bonuses on student achievement, although some specifications suggest a small positive effect that compares favorably with other education interventions. When controlling for covariates, we find that offering bonuses of an average yearly cost of $100 per student had a small significant impact of about 0.04 standard deviations. However, these impacts are smaller (0.01 standard deviations) and become insignificant when not controlling for covariates or using an alternative method of inference.