@EdWorkingPaper{ai25-1364,
title = "No Pay? No Way! Teacher Compensation Reforms and the Market for Graduate Degrees",
author = "Taylor Odle, Patrick Delgado",
institution = "Annenberg Institute at Brown University",
number = "1364",
year = "2025",
month = "December",
URL = "http://www.edworkingpapers.com/ai25-1364",
abstract = {Graduate degrees in education provide financial stability for many institutions, yet reformers have sought to decouple teacher pay from these credentials. Without a wage premium, educators may skip advanced study, reducing enrollment at nearby universities. Using a natural experiment in Tennessee, we show that eliminating a graduate degree wage premium for teachers led to a 27% (140 student) enrollment decline in education fields alone, with larger effects at non-researchintensive universities. This drop subsequently reduced institutional tuition revenue and related state funding. We discuss implications for universities, the teacher pipeline, and the broader relationship between state higher education and K-12 policy.},
}