Peer Reviewed Publications:
Exposure to Islamophobia: The impacts of an increased risk of bullying victimization on human capital, with Gabriel Romero, Economics and Human Biology, 2024, V.52, 101344.
The gender specific determinants of labour supply in rural and urban context: evidence from transitional economy of Armenia, with Sona Kalantaryan, in the book "Gendering Post-Soviet Space: Demography, Labor Market and Values in Empirical Research" (editors Kseniia Gatskova, Tatiana Karabchuk, Kazuhiro Kumo and Ekaterina Skoglund), Springer, 2021
Growing in the womb: The effect of seismic activity on fetal growth, with Rocio Alvarez Aranda y Gabriel Romero, Economics and Human Biology, 2020, V.36, 100815.
The impact of parental leave policy on child rearing and employment behaviour: the case of Germany, IZA Journal of Labor Policy, 2019, 9-7.
Working Papers and Work in progress:
Give her a chance: sex ratio imbalance in Armenian families, with Sona Kalantaryan
Abstract: This study aims at understanding the determinants of sex ratio imbalances in Armenia. Using the Household Integrated Living Conditions Survey for the period 2004-2016, we examine the impact of various family characteristics on the sex ratio at birth to detect the contribution sex-selective abortions might have to the documented bias. Our preliminary results suggest that the probability of having a third or fourth child depends on the sex composition of the elder kids. Moreover, the probability of having a boy as a third or higher birth order child increases substantially for families where the first and second kids are girls. These findings point to the presence of sex-selective abortion practices in Armenia.
Below replacement: recent trends in Chilean fertility and parental leave reform
Abstract: This paper focuses on the effects of paid, job-protected parental leave on the Chilean birth rates. The analysis is based on a Chilean reform introduced the parental leave system in 2011. The reform established 18 weeks of paid, job-protected leave for working parents. Using data from Vital Statistics on the population of birth between 2010-2013 I analyze the impact of the introduced incentives on the conception rates. I find that the reform has a positive impact on the fertility decision in the short-run, the conception rates increases around 0.45 child per thousand working women. The effect is pronounced both for a first and second children. In addition, fertility responses vary across the Chilean regions. The effect duplicates in the regions in comparison with Santiago, the capital and largest city of Chile.
Do Pro-natalist Policies Reverse Depopulation in Russia?
Abstract: In this paper, I focus on the fertility decisions of Russian women to analyze the reasons underlying low birth rates. In particular, I study the 2006 Russian family policy reform, which introduced the concept of “maternity capital” and changed the system of parental leave benefits. The reform was designed to support a woman's decision for higher birth orders. Using the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey for the period 2001-2011, I analyze the impact of the introduced incentives on the decision to have a second child. I estimate a fertility decision exploiting the financial incentive variation. The findings show that the reform has a positive impact on the probability of having a second child. On average, the probability increases 3,5 percentage points. The effect varies significantly across age and education. The findings suggest that an increase in parental benefits and access to maternal capital had a positive impact on the fertility dynamics in the short run.
Parental Leave Policies, Fertility Decisions and Delayed Motherhood: Evidence from Germany
Abstract: This paper investigates the effects of the German parental leave reform of 2007 on female fertility decisions. Exploiting variation in financial incentives generated by the reform, we estimate a bivariate choice model of the transition to the first and second childbirth. The analysis is based on the German Socio-Economic Household Panel for the period of 2001-2010. The empirical findings confirm the significant shift in the reproductive behaviour of full-time employed women after the reform implementation. Childless couples tend to postpone their entrance into motherhood, while mothers with one child have higher probabilities of a second birth.