My research is motivated by concrete, policy-relevant questions and I have an interest in the interaction between research and policy making. I have advised and consulted for the Inter-American Development Bank, the Word Bank, UNICEF and ILO among others on themes of labor markets, social assistance, early child development, migration and citizens’ security and my research has been generously funded by the IADB. In particular, I have contributed to the following areas:
POLICIES TO PROTECT LOW WAGE WORKERS AND TO PREVENT RISING WAGE INEQUALITY IN LATIN AMERICA
I have produced a body of research on the role of labour market institutions and educational policies in affecting trends in wage inequality in Latin America. My research findings have shaped public understanding of the forces behind trends in the structure of earnings in the region, influenced policy and public debate both nationally and internationally, and led to explicit policy recommendations that have directly affected national legislation. In particular, this research has informed the reform of the minimum wage legislation in Mexico in 2016, paving the way for an increase in the real value of the minimum wage between 2016 and 2020; guided the legislated increases in the minimum wage in Argentina between 2016 and 2018; and shaped policy debates and recommendations by international organizations regarding appropriate educational policies to prevent rising earnings inequality throughout Latin America.
EARLY HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT IN LATIN AMERICA
My research on ton the determinants of early human capital development in Latin America has contributed to policy reforms for early childhood development across a variety of countries. It provided key evidence for the reform of the grade promotion system in Uruguay in 2019; directly influenced the Argentinean government’s decision to embark on a major expansion of the pre-school system between 2016 and 2019; and shaped strategies, views, and recommendations to client countries and operations of the inter-American Development Bank (IADB) in the area of early child development between 2015 and 2018. Overall, my research has demonstrated the importance of early life interventions to policymakers leading to increased investment and additional resources to support early childhood development.
THE IMPACT OF IMMIGRATION ON THE LABOR MARKET
My research on the impact of migration on the labor market was used as input into several key policy recommendations by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to inform the government’s declared aim of achieving a reduction in the levels of net migration. I also served as member of the OECD Scientific Committee for the Review of Labor Migration Policy in the EU.
CHILD LABOR
My research on schooling and child labor has been influential in shaping policy and has led to a more nuanced understanding of the issue by governments and international organisations.
Technical papers:
Pathways to work in the developing world: An analysis of young persons’ transition from school to the workplace, (with other UCW team members), UCW Working paper, October 2015.
Understanding children’s work in Bangladesh, (with other UCW team members), Inter-Agency Country Report, UCW Country Report Series, July 2011.
Understanding the Brazilian success in reducing child labour: empirical evidence and policy lessons. Drawing policy lessons from the Brazilian experience, (with other UCW team members), UCW Working Paper Series, June 2011.
Trends in children’s employment and child labor in the Latin America and Caribbean region: An econometric analysis for Bolivia, (with other UCW team members), UCW Working Paper Series, November 2010.
Towards consistency in child labor measurement: Assessing the comparability of estimates generated by different survey instruments, (with other UCW team members), UCW Working Paper Series, June 2010.
Children’s work in Andhra Pradesh: trends and determinants (with other UCW team members), UCW Working Paper Series, February 2010.
Towards eliminating the worst forms of child labor in Cambodia by 2016: an assessment of resource requirements, (with other UCW team members), UCW Country Report Series, May 2009.
Understanding children’s work in Zambia, (with other UCW team members), UCW Working paper, May 2009.
Understanding children’s work in Vietnam, (with other UCW team members), UCW Country Report Series, April 2009.
Issues in Estimating the Returns to Technical and Vocational Education, Background paper prepared for the World Bank study, Linking Education Policy to Labor Market Outcomes, 2007, Washington, DC.
SOCIAL ASSISTANCE
With colleagues at UC Berkeley and Universidad de la Republica in Montevideo I have advised the Uruguayan government on the design and evaluation of El Plan de Atencion Nacional a la Emergencia Social (PANES), the country's largest emergency poverty relief program. The ensuing research has shaped the public debate on the design and effects of social assistance measures more generally, both nationally and internationally.
Technical papers:
Social Policies and Labor Market Outcomes in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Review of the Existing Evidence (with M. Bosch), Occasional Paper No 32, CEP, LSE, 2012.
Informe Final de Evaluación de impacto del PANES, Ministerio de Desarrollo Social, Government of Uruguay, Montevideo (with V. Amarante, G. Burdín, M. Ferrando, A. Vernengo and A. Vigorito), 2009.
Informe final de la evaluación intermedia de impacto del PANES.Ministerio de Desarrollo Social, Government of Uruguay (With V. Amarante, G. Burdín, and A. Vigorito), 2008.
Una propuesta metodológica para la evaluación del impacto del Plan de Atención Nacional a la Emergencia Social (PANES), Ministerio de Desarrollo Social, Government of Uruguay (With V. Amarante, R. Arim, and A. Vigorito), 2006.
CRIME
I have been a member of the Inter-American Development Bank Crime Prevention Roundtable and contributed to the debate on the actual costs of crime and appropriate crime prevention policies in Latin America.