research

with Matias Ciaschi and Mariana Viollaz. Review of Economics of the Household. 2024

[Ungated version here] 

This study analyzes the adjustment in time allocation to school support activities by mothers and fathers during the pandemic across 22 Latin American and Caribbean countries, exploring the repercussions on labor market outcomes and children’s learning losses. Our analysis reveals that mothers experienced a disproportionate increase in time dedicated to children’s educational support compared to fathers, particularly when mothers could work from home. The results suggest that these effects were more pronounced in countries with stringent school closure measures and limited access to in-person instruction. Even as mobility restrictions eased and schools reopened, the additional responsibilities taken on by mothers remained above pre-pandemic levels. Mothers also significantly increased the time spent on non-educational childcare, though to a lesser extent than educational support. We also show evidence indicating a decline in maternal labor force participation and a rise in flexible labor arrangements as mothers allocated more hours to child-related duties. Our study also provides descriptive evidence that children’s learning losses were less severe in countries where the gender disparity in pandemic-related school support was greater.

with Andreas de Barros, Paul Glewwe, and Ashwini Shankar.The Economic Journal. 2024.

[Ungated version here] 

There is substantial emphasis on improving classroom practices, primarily through activity-based instruction, to increase the productivity of schooling. We study a large programme that seeks to promote mathematics learning in government primary schools in India. Through a cluster-randomised trial, we find that the programme increased activity-based instruction but yielded only muted impacts on learning. We provide a potential explanation: School value-added models suggest a negative relationship between activity-based instruction and test score gains. Our findings are robust to adding a community-engagement component to the intervention. These results highlight the limitations of activity-based instruction programmes for increasing school productivity.

Pre-registered at the AEA RCT Trial Registry (AEARCTR-0003494)

with A. Hasanbasri and F. Rios-Avila.  [Ungated version here] 

This study delves into the impact of parenthood on employment outcomes in Indonesia, analyzing data from the Indonesia Family Life Survey spanning from 1993 to 2014. We integrate cutting-edge advances in the difference-in-differences methodology, specifically accommodating a staggered design, and document some of the challenges of using this methodology, given some data restrictions. We then provide estimates of the magnitudes and persistence of birth penalties for the Indonesian labor market context and contrast how the magnitudes of the penalties differ across various groups. We found that households with an extended family member living in the household could have their birth penalty disappear by year two (relative to seven years without), the quickest recovery estimation among all groups. We also found that highly educated women living in urban areas where the birth penalty was the largest and most persistent is a good target group and where childcare might have the most considerable impact.

Review of Economics of the Household, 19 (1), 233-254. 2021  [Ungated version here] 

Using data from the Colombian Demographic and Health Survey, I document a positive association between intimate partner violence against women and the likelihood of women’s employment. This finding persists when I exploit the husband’s own childhood experience of abuse as a source of plausibly exogenous variation for the incidence of domestic violence. To explore potential mechanisms underlying this association, I use a mediation analysis in the presence of intermediate confounders. I find suggestive evidence that a woman’s decision-making power—measured by active input in household and healthcare decisions—as well as a measure for willingness to divorce are likely mediators. I argue that abused women may hold jobs to increase their economic independence and potentially exit abusive relationships.

with Marc F. Bellemare and Seth Gitter. World Development, 112, 163-179. 2018 [Ungated version here]

Riding on a wave of interest in “superfoods” in rich countries, quinoa went in less than a decade from being largely unknown outside of South America to being an upper-class staple in the United States, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere. As a result, concerned commentators suggested that the rising international demand for quinoa, which tripled prices, might have substantially harmed Peruvian quinoa consumers. We study the impacts of rising quinoa prices on the welfare of Peruvian households. Our analysis suggests these fears are unwarranted. A descriptive analysis shows that quinoa is a small part (<1%) of the average household’s budget share for the roughly 30% of households that consume quinoa. Our econometric analysis generally finds that as quinoa prices rose, welfare increased in regions with higher concentrations of quinoa consumers. Specifically, we use 11 years of a large-scale, nationally representative household survey to construct pseudo-panels at three geographic (district, province, and department) levels to look at the relationship between the international price of quinoa and the value of real household consumption, our proxy for household welfare. We find for the two smaller geographic regions (i.e., districts and provinces) higher concentrations of quinoa consumption or production are associated with a small and statistically significant increase in household welfare in response to quinoa price increases; in the largest regions (i.e., departments), higher concentrations of quinoa consumption or production are associated with small declines in welfare of less than 1% of total household consumption. Our findings that the international trade of quinoa has not been harmful to household welfare in Peru thus run counter to some of the myths surrounding quinoa.

The Journal of Economic Inequality, 14(4), 395–416. 2016 [Ungated version here]

This paper measures inequality of opportunity in adult health in Colombia using the 2010 Living Standards and Social Mobility Survey, a rich dataset that provides unique information about individual childhood circumstances in that country. Dissimilarity and Gini-opportunity indexes are calculated to provide different measures of inequality of opportunity using a self-reported variable for health status. The Shapley-value decomposition is then used to estimate the contribution of early-life circumstances such as parental background, region of origin and ethnicity to inequality of opportunity. The findings suggest that 8 % to 10 % of the circumstance-driven opportunities distinctively enjoyed by those who are healthier should be redistributed or otherwise compensated in order to achieve equality of opportunity. Differences in household socio-economic status during childhood and parental educational attainment appear to be the most salient dimensions of inequality of opportunity in adult health.

with H. Edmonds, J. Lovell and C.A.K. Lovell.  [Ungated version here] 

As climate change intensifies, countries face varying degrees of vulnerability and resilience that shape their ability to withstand and recover from environmental, economic, and social shocks. This study introduces the Multidimensional Vulnerability and Lack of Resilience Index (MVLRI), a novel framework that expands beyond traditional vulnerability assessments by incorporating resilience as a critical component. The MVLRI synthesizes twenty-six key indicators across economic, environmental, and social dimensions, offering a comprehensive measure of how countries confront climate risks. Our findings reveal that vulnerability and resilience are distinct yet complementary factors, with each contributing significantly to the overall index. These contributions vary widely across countries, reflecting diverse climate risks and socioeconomic contexts. The study underscores the importance of including resilience in policy frameworks, as neglecting it could undermine the effectiveness of interventions to reducing climate impacts. Furthermore, the MVLRI demonstrates strong correlations with institutional performance indicators, illustrating how governance, economic stability, and social equity shape a country's capacity to cope with climate adversity. By providing a multidimensional perspective, the MVLRI equips policymakers with a powerful tool to design targeted interventions that address both vulnerability and resilience. This approach enables more effective resource allocation and policy decisions, helping countries to better anticipate, respond to, and recover from the growing threats posed by global climate change.