Research

Publications


Journal of Labor Economics, Apr. 2022, Vol. 40, Issue 2: p. 437–471:

 

This paper examines the impact of male casualties due to World War II on fertility and female employment in the United States. We rely on the number of casualties at the county-level and use a differences-in-differences strategy. While most counties in the U.S. experienced a Baby Boom following the war, we find that the increase in fertility was lower in high casualty rate counties than in low casualty rate counties. Analyzing the channels through which male casualties could have decreased fertility, we provide evidence that county male casualties are positively related to 1950s female employment and household income.

 

Journal of Population Economics, Oct. 2021, Vol. 34, Issue 4: p. 1321–1354.


Better understanding whether and how communities respond to government decisions is crucial for policy makers and health officials in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, we document the socioeconomic determinants of COVID-19 stay-at-home orders' compliance in the U.S. Using cell phone data measuring changes in average distance traveled and nonessential visitation, we find that: stay-at-home orders reduce mobility by about 8 to 10 percentage points; high-trust counties decrease their mobility significantly more than low-trust counties post-lockdown; and counties with relatively more self-declared democrats decrease significantly more their mobility. We also provide evidence that the estimated effect on compliance post-lockdown is especially large for trust in the press, and relatively smaller for trust in science, medicine, or government.

Working Paper


REVISION REQUESTED: JOURNAL OF LABOR ECONOMICS

 

By the end of the Progressive reform era, the majority of U.S. states had enacted at least one form of labor legislation for women. We examine the impact of three previously unexplored legislation: seating, regulatory and night-work laws, on female employment. Given that not all states adopted these laws, and the staggered nature of adoption, we rely on a difference-in-differences strategy design to estimate short and medium-term causal effects on female gainful employment. Our findings indicate that laws regulating health and safety conditions and restricting women's night work increased the likelihood of female employment by about 4% to 8%, accounting to about 10% to 20% from the total increase during our period of analysis. Examining heterogeneous effects reveals that younger and married women without children witnessed the largest increase in the share of employment. We also document that native, higher-class and literate women were also incentivized to join the workforce. During the late nineteenth century, women faced significant barriers to employment due to high opportunity costs and societal barriers and stigma, resulting in an inelastic female labor supply, characterized by a limited substitution effect and a substantial (negative) income effect. The affected categories of women suggest that gender-based labor laws played a crucial role in altering societal norms and women's attitudes and incentives towards employment, ultimately leading to an increase in female labor supply. Our findings hold important implications for policymakers and advocates seeking to promote gender equality in the labor market.

 

Mention: CWEC/CFÉC Newsletter

[New version coming out soon] 


This paper relies on a novel dataset on politicians’ misconducts and examine the timing of revelation of these misconducts in the two-party political system of the United States. In order to minimize negative publicity, politicians may strategically manipulate the timing of uncovering their own unpopular actions to coincide with other important events that distract the mass media and the public. I examine the time when misconducts were uncovered and became a scandal, and the intensity of its coverage by local newspapers. I find that evidence of strategic timing is present only for predicted newsworthy events and for politicians who were still in office at the time of the scandal appearance. I also examine the heterogeneity of political parties in the timing of revealing scandals and find that republican politicians seem to time the appearance of their sex and political scandals to minimize negative publicity.


Work in Progress


 

The aim of this research is to investigate the effect of the Quebec’s childcare policy (1998) on women’s occupational and educational choices. Specifically, we want to examine its effect on the females’ representation in STEM fields and occupations. In September 1997, the province of Quebec initiated a new childcare policy by which licensed and regulated providers of childcare services began offering day care spaces at the subsidized fee of $5/day/child for children aged 4. In successive years, the government reduced the age requirement, created new childcare facilities and spaces, and paid for the additional costs entailed by this low-fee policy. Knowing that the childcare policy in Quebec did indeed drew more women to labor force (Lefebvre et al. (2009)), our question is whether it had an effect on the gender segregation on the job market and specifically in STEM occupations.


 

Idea: We examine whether present-day differences in ethnic self-identification and political attitudes in Ukraine can be traced back to the 1932--1933 Soviet Great Famine.


 

Idea: Do female candidates receive less support from a scared electorate? We examine the impact of  terror and non-terror attacks, mass shootings, and natural disasters on voting behaviours. 



 

Idea: This paper investigates the extent of p-hacking in job market papers. We will also investigate whether a greater extent of p-hacking leads to a greater likelihood to obtain an academic job and publishing.