Published Articles
Bhargava, A., & Echenique, J. A. (2022). An Econometric Analysis of Sea Surface Temperatures, Sea Ice Concentrations, and Ocean Surface Current Velocities. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 10(12), Article 12. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10121854
Ajisegiri, B., Andres, L. A., Bhatt, S., Dasgupta, B., Echenique, J. A., Gething, P. W., Zabludovsky, J. G., & Joseph, G. (2019). Geo-spatial modeling of access to water and sanitation in Nigeria. Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development, 9(2), 258–280. https://doi.org/10.2166/washdev.2019.089
Andrés, L., Briceño, B., Chase, C., & Echenique, J. A. (2017). Sanitation and externalities: Evidence from early childhood health in rural India. Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development, 7(2), 272–289. https://doi.org/10.2166/washdev.2017.143
Working Papers and Work in Progress
Comprehensive Early Childhood Development Support Systems and Academic Achievement: The Case of Chile Crece Contigo''
This paper studies the effects of a comprehensive early childhood support system on human capital accumulation. Specifically, we explore differences in educational achievement of the first generations of children exposed to the comprehensive child development support system ”Chile Crece Contigo.” To study this, we exploit the gradual implementation of the policy and the age eligibility requirements to estimate the returns of availability of the policy on data from seven cohorts (2012-2018) of fourth-grade students in Chile. We find sizable positive effects in mathematics (0.21 of a standard deviation) and language (0.23 of a standard deviation) test scores for children in municipalities that started the program during or before their prenatal stage compared to children that the program began when they were older than sixty months. Estimates from an event-study design show that the exposure returns dissipated for children thirty-six months old or older when the policy started. This result is consistent with the schedule of interventions and early detection instruments established. When we look at the difference in the returns to exposure across gender and socioeconomic status, we find evidence that (i) comprehensive child support system has higher returns on boys, which could be explained partially by differences in access to need-based services, (ii) these differences across gender differences occur in children with higher levels of exposure, and (iii) we do not find relevant differences between students classified as low-socioeconomic background and not classified in this category. Keywords: Chile Crece Contigo, long-term return, early childhood interventions.
"Closing the Gap: The Effects of Need-Based Services on Early Childhood Development''
''The Role of School Closures and Reopening on Children's Mental Health'' (with Amy Ellen Schwartz and B. Elbel)
Supply Pricing Responses to Sugar-Sweet Beverage Taxes at a Large National Fast-Food Chain" (with B. Elbel, H. Wu, S. Desai, P. Rummo, T. Mijanovich, M. Bragg, and B. Weitzman) Link
Over one-third of adults consume fast food daily, including sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) that contain more than the recommended daily allowance of calories from added sugars in just one serving. Taxes on sweetened beverages are a promising solution to reduce the consumption of these beverages and their potential contribution to obesity. However, policies must satisfy two conditions to affect the demand for these products. Firstly, the tax must be passed on from producers to consumers through higher prices. Secondly, the demand for these items should be less than perfectly inelastic. This paper focuses on the first condition, examining the pass-through of taxes on sweetened beverages in fast-food beverage prices in five US localities that implemented taxes between 2017-2018. The study leverages detailed national purchase data from Taco Bell locations between 2015 and 2020. Using an event-study design combined with a synthetic control counterfactual, we tested for price changes per ounce of single-served beverages and beverages bundles with menu items. The results showed that the amount of tax passed through to consumers varied by locality during the first two years post-tax. We find evidence of a complete pass-through on single-served beverages in cities taxing sugar and artificially sweetened beverages (Philadelphia, PA, and Cook County, IL). Conversely, we find no significant price changes in locations that taxed only sugar-sweetened beverages (Seattle, WA, Albany, CA, and Oakland, CA). The restaurant responses remained consistent into the second year post-tax in the four locations that retained the tax. These findings underscore the significance of tax design.
''Trends in Emergency Department Visits Related to Mental Health Diagnosis: Evidence for NYC School Children between 2016-2022'' (with Amy Ellen Schwartz, Kevin Konty, Sophia Day, and B. Elbel)
''Preventing Suicide in Schools: Strategies and Barriers to Effectively Supporting Youth'' (with Anna Strassmann Mueller, Kim Bryan, and Coady Wing)
''Food Labelling Policies and Children's Nutrition'' (with Agustina Laurito)
''Estimating the impacts of calorie labels in fast-food settings using a novel comparison: Comparing California drive-through and in-store purchases'' (with B. Weitzman, B. Elbel, H. Wu, L. Heng, C. Abrams, E. Hafeez, S. Desai, P. Rummo, T. Mijanovich, M. Bragg, and O. Cassidy) Submitted
Other Articles
Andres, L. A., Briceno, B., Chase, C., & Echenique, J. A. (2015). India: How many toilets does it take to improve health?(Brief 96568; From Evidence to Policy). The World Bank. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/117401467993163079/India-how-many-toilets-does-it-take-to-improve-health
Echenique, J. A., & Urzua, S. (2013). Desigualdad, Segregación y Resultados Educacionales Evidencia desde el Metro de Santiago (359; Puntos de Referencia). Centro de Estudios Publicos. https://static.cepchile.cl/uploads/cepchile/2022/09/pder359_SUrzua-JEchenique.pdf
Echenique, J. A., & Urzúa, S. S. (2012). Pobreza y Desigualdad ¿Dónde estamos? ¿Hacia dónde vamos? (353; Puntos de Referencia). Centro de Estudios Publicos. https://static.cepchile.cl/uploads/cepchile/2022/09/pder353_JAEchenique-SUrzua.pdf
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