En esta página puedes leer los abstract de algunos trabajos que supervisé en el pasado. Agradezco a Julieta Garretano, Loreto Guzmán, Erin Díaz y Enrique Martinez.
Julieta Garretano (Nota final: 8.0)
The following paper uses the case of PROGRESA in Mexico to evaluate the impact of Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programs on enrollment rate and to look for possible differential effects of familial and individual characteristics that could be useful for policymakers to improve these type of programs. The PROGRESA program aims to reduce poverty in the short run by introducing direct cash transfers from the government, and to improve human capital in the long run in order to generate incentives for schooling and healthcare. This will increase the future productivity of children coming from poor families by improving their welfare in the long run and cutting intergenerational transmission of poverty.
This study focuses on the differences of school enrollment rates specifically in the category of “poor” households among PROGRESA and Non-PROGRESA localities (treated and control groups) before and after the program started. Although the program was designed to be random, pre-program differences are compared in Table A-1 in the appendix. As the results show, before the program started there were no statistically significant differences between the treatment and control group.
The difference-in-difference estimator suggests that the enrollment rate is 3.2 percentage points higher for those in the PROGRESA group than for those in the non-PROGRESA group. Also, being a girl implies higher results for enrollment rate for those in PROGRESA localities, being 3.64 percentage points the increase in enrollment rate for girls while 3.04 for boys.
For a deeper insight of the program, triple differences are used to capture the differential effect of living in a PROGRESA locality and having a specific characteristic, such as being an only child, having more than four siblings or having their father living at home. The differential 1 effects are analysed for overall enrolment rate of children aged between 6 and 18 and for enrolment rate in the first year of secondary school. The results show that PROGRESA has a large positive effect on the enrolment rate in the first year of secondary school for those who have one sibling while having four or more has a negative effect.
Loreto Guzmán (Nota final: 8.4)
En este artículo se van a estudiar las principales consecuencias de haber sido madre adolescente en España. El hecho de haber sido madre adolescente disminuye la probabilidad de encontrar empleo por diversos factores entre los que destacan el menor nivel educativo adquirido por la joven. Esto conlleva, en la mayoría de los casos, que los puestos de trabajo a los que aspiran estas madres sean no cualificados y, por tanto, los salarios que obtienen son mucho menores si los comparamos con las jóvenes que no tuvieron que abandonar los estudios. Además, la incertidumbre en el futuro en el mercado laboral de estas jóvenes es muy grande ya que, en el caso de que trabajen, consiguen hacerlo en trabajos a tiempo parcial o con media jornada. La situación económica es normalmente precaria para estas madres y, por lo general, necesitan o han necesitado ayudas por parte del Estado.
Erin Díaz (Nota final: 7.6)
This research paper aims to exploit the wage gap and its main driving forces. The focal point is to examine the gender pay gap by nationality by comparing male Spanish individuals with female Spanish agents and the same procedure with non-Spanish. The methodology to follow is to estimate a Mincer equation and observe the monetary returns. With this procedure we can evaluate whether the wage gap has been increasing or decreasing. Furthermore, the Chow test will be performed to check for systematic differences or structural changes.
Enrique Martinez (Nota final: 9.0)
The following paper will attempt to provide a comprehensive assessment of the effect that the Conditional Cash Transfer has had on those people that were rated as not eligible (non-poor) by PROGRESA. To do so, one has to take into account the effect this particular program has had on school attendance and labor metrics for those rated as non-poor who fall within a particular age group, from age 6 to 16. In order to obtain these results the paper will be based on the existing literature and methods available on the topic, however the sample used will be different. The method followed is a difference-in-differences between the non-poor who live in a locality where the program has been implemented (Treatment Group), and the non-poor who live in another town or village where the program has not been implemented (Control Group). It is expected that both school attendance and levels of underage work will be affected by the introduction of the program.