Job Market Paper

"Gender Salience of Wage Comparisons and Labor Supply"

How does gender mediate the labor supply effects of interpersonal wage comparisons? These effects are known to be large and ubiquitous across hierarchical organizations like firms, but little is known about how they affect men and women differently, especially in the context of mixed-gender teams. In this paper I report on the results of an experiment that studies this question using an experimental methodology capable of observing the gender salience and the joint gender-rank salience of wage comparisons. I present two key findings. First, same-gender wage comparisons are more salient, and therefore have larger effects on labor supply, for both men and women. Second, these effects are asymmetric when considering rank: the labor supply of men responds more strongly to the wages of higher-paid men, whereas the labor supply of women responds more strongly to the wages of lower-paid women. These results have implications for optimal gender team composition and pay disclosure policies within firms, as well as pay disclosure regulatory considerations by governments.

Working Papers

"Female Education and Alignment of Fertility Preferences: a Novel Channel for Lower Fertility Outcomes in Zimbabwe" (with Jorge M. Aguero) - Under Review at JDE

Most theories analyzing the relationship between women’s education and fertility outcomes treat fertility choice as being made only by the woman or by a household that has a common objective function. However, fertility decisions involve two people whose preferences may not align and may carry different weight in determining the outcome. We propose a novel channel through which education affects fertility that is consistent with the fact that fertility choices are made by two people: better alignment of fertility preferences within couples. To establish a causal link between education and alignment of fertility preferences, we exploit a natural experiment—a 1980 education reform—that increased female education in Zimbabwe. Using a Regression Discontinuity Design, we find that more educated women have 10% fewer children, want 5% fewer children and report a 3% increase in alignment of fertility preferences with their partners compared to their less-educated counterparts. These results suggest that when fertility desires within couples may differ, more education for women can lead to lower fertility outcomes by improving alignment of fertility preferences. 

Selected Work in Progress

"Wage Comparisons and Peer Effects in the Workplace"

"Gender Salience in the Small and in the Large"

"Selling-Orientation of Occupations and the Gender Wage Gap"

"Social Comparisons in Risky Health Behaviors: Evidence from Ten Million Facial Image Postings during Covid" (with Remy Levin and Nick Obradovich)