Publications

International student applications in the UK after Brexit,  with Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes. Journal of Economic Geography (2024)  24(5), 637–662. Media: Fraser of Allander, VoxEU. 

Peer gender and schooling: evidence from Ethiopia, with Daniel Borbely and Jonathan Norris.  Journal of Human Capital, 2023, 17(2).

Dynamic effects of co-ethnic networks on immigrants' economic success, with Michele Battisti and Giovanni Peri, The Economic Journal, 2022, 132(641), 58-88.  Media: VoxEU

Occupational recognition and immigrants labor market outcomes, with Herbert Brücker, Albrecht Glitz, and Adrian Lerche,  Journal of Labor Economics, 2021, 39(2) .

Single-mother families and the gender gap in children's time investment and non-cognitive skill, with Letizia Mencarini and Silvia Pasqua, Review of Economics of the Household, 2019, 17, 149-176 .  

The effects of immigration on household services, labour supply, and fertility, Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 2018, 80(4), 843-869. 

Immigrants, domestic labor and women's retirement decisions, with Giovanni Peri and Mariacristina Rossi, Labour Economics, 2015,  36, 18-34. Media:  VoxEU

Working papers

Beliefs on Children's Human Capital Formation and Mothers at Work with Césarine Boinet, Jonathan Norris, Paul Telemo, and Zhan Shi. New version. IZA Discussion Paper. Under Review.

Abstract: Perceptions that women have an absolute advantage in child-rearing can pressure mothers out of work. Guided by a simple model, we use a survey experiment to equalize earnings potential across gender, finding that women are perceived to hold an absolute advantage in child-rearing. We show that these beliefs have intergenerational roots, predict women's labor supply, and are explained by expectations that mothers will spend more productive time with children than fathers. Our findings add to the motherhood penalty literature by providing novel evidence that helps explain a source of gender labor market differentials.

Income Composition and  Peer Effects in Education with Marco Fongoni, Jonathan Norris, and Zhan Shi. IZA Discussion Paper. Under Review.  

Abstract: We study the long-run effects of income inequality within adolescent peer compositions in schools. We propose a theoretical framework based on reference dependence where inequality in peer groups can generate aspiration gaps. Guided by predictions from this framework we find that an increase in the share of low-income peers within school-cohorts improves the educational outcomes of low-income students and has negative effects on high income students. We further document a range of evidence that corroborates these results, including that they are distinct from peer non-linear ability effects. We then find that social cohesion, through better connections in the school network, has an important role in mitigating the effects of peer inequality. Our results provide evidence on the role of inequality in peer groups for long-run educational outcomes, while also demonstrating that there is potential to avoid these consequences.

Does Paid Family Leave Affect Abortion? Evidence from New York, with Rory Allanson and Otto Lenhart. Strathclyde Discussion Paper.

Abstract:  As state Paid Family Leave (PFL) programs continue to roll out across the United States, previous work has sought to investigate their impacts on economic, child, and maternal outcomes, including fertility. The impact they may have on abortion is however still unexplored. We employ the Synthetic-Difference-in-Differences estimator developed by Arkhangelsky et al. (2021) to estimate the effect of New York’s PFL program (NY-PFL) on abortion rates. Using abortion data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we find that the launch of NY-PFL in 2018 led to a 13.6% decrease in abortion rates per 1,000 women for the 20-39 age group, with smaller effects observed for older women. Event-study estimates reveal that this decrease intensified from an initial 7.1% decline in 2018-19 to 13.6% in 2021, while robustness checks underline the significance of our findings. Our exercise contributes further evidence towards the deliberation of state PFL programs. 

The Motherhood Penalty: Gender Norms, Occupational Sorting, and Labor Supply, with Césarine Boinet and Jonathan Norris. IZA Discussion Paper. 

Abstract: In this paper, we examine how pre-birth gender norms shape women’s labor market trajectories and occupational choices around motherhood in the United Kingdom. Using data from the British Household Panel Survey, we first quantify the impact of gender norms on earnings and labor supply post-childbirth. Our results show that traditional mothers experience a 18-percentage-point (pp) higher motherhood penalty in earnings and a 20-pp lower motherhood penalty in hours worked compared to egalitarian mothers. Second, we investigate the role of pre-birth comparative advantage within couples, finding that this mechanism applies only to egalitarian parents. Third, we examine the interaction between occupational characteristics, including their degree of familyfriendliness, and prebirth gender norms. We find that accounting for occupational sorting significantly reduces the average earnings penalty for both traditional and egalitarian mothers, driven entirely by hours worked for traditional mothers. In addition, we show that occupational sorting explains 80% of the short-run earnings penalty gap between traditional and egalitarian mothers and eliminates the difference in hours worked penalties entirely. Thus, traditional women seem to sort pre-birth into occupations that facilitate a larger reduction in hours worked post-motherhood, which in turn have a substantial impact on their earnings trajectory. 

Marijuana Legalisation and Mental Health with Daniel Borbely, Otto Lenhart, and Jonathan Norris. IZA Discussion Paper. Media: Atlantico, VoxEU. 

Abstract: This study examines the effects of U.S. state-level marijuana policies on mental health. Using data from three nationally representative data sets and estimating difference-in-differences models that account for the staggered implementation of both medical and recreational marijuana legislation, we evaluate the impact on marijuana use as well as two measures of mental distress. We show that marijuana laws have positive effects on marijuana use, but find no evidence for any effect on mental health on average. Nonetheless, null aggregate effects mask sharp heterogeneities across the age distribution. Our findings show that elderly individuals (age 60 and older) benefit from medical marijuana legalization in terms of better mental health, whereas legalizing recreational marijuana produces negative mental health effects for younger individuals (below age 35). The effects of medical marijuana legislation are driven by elderly people with pre-existing chronic health conditions, whereas those of recreational marijuana legislation are driven by younger and relatively healthy individuals. Furthermore, results are stronger for women than for men. 

Work in progress

Beliefs on Breastfeeding: Informing Future Mothers with Ronni Pavan and Zhan Shi (pilot ready).