Research
Peer reviewed in publications
Kugler, M., Viollaz, M., Duque, D., Gaddis, I., Newhouse, D., Palacios-Lopez, A., & Weber, M. (2023). "How Did the COVID-19 Crisis Affect Different Types of Workers in the Developing World?". World Development [Paper]
Working Papers
"The Long-Run Impact of Increasing School Funding on Labor Market Outcomes"; Presented at the EEA-ESEM Congress (2023) [Working Paper]
"Social Subjective Food Poverty Lines in Brazil: Combining Minimal Income Question with Food Security Status"; Joint with Alysson Portella; to be presented at the 51st National Meeting of Economics/Anpec (2023) [Working paper]
Lara Ibarra, G., Paffhausen, A. L., & Duque, D. (2021). "Estimating a Poverty Line for Brazil Based on the 2017/18 Household Budget Survey". World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 9878 [Working Paper]
"Early Schooling and Maternal Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence from a New School Entry Policy Using Exact Date of Birth in Brazil"; Joint with Gabriel Nemer Tenoury; presented at the IZA/World Bank/UNU-WIDER Jobs and Development Conference & 42nd Meeting of the Brazilian Econometric Society/SBE (2020) [Working Paper]
Work in Progress
Reforming Educational Grants: Assessing the Effects on School Closures, Class Sizes, and Student Achievement
Abstract: This study examines the consequences of transitioning from resource-based to needs-based grants in education, with a focus on the incidence of school closures in Norway. This adaptation was predominantly noticeable in municipalities with an higher potential for efficient resource reallocation. It is observed that municipalities further away from legally set class size constraints possessed greater ability to minimize costs following this change. Thus, I identify exposure to this reform with the pre-reform municipal class size distance to the cap. Results show that, subsequently to the change in the grants system design, more exposed municipalities had an drop in the number of public school and a significant increase in both school and class sizes. Notably, the introduced modifications led to discernible, enduring positive effects on students, marked by enhancements in cognitive abilities, educational attainment, and earnings in adulthood. The student-level results seem to be driven by a higher exposure to higher SES-peers, which was followed by school closures. The findings of this investigation aims to shed light on the multifaceted repercussions of grant reforms on educational frameworks and student outcomes, underscoring the pivotal role of proficient resource allocation.
Educational Incentives and Human Capital Investment: Evidence from Norwegian College Admissions; Joint with Samuel Hirshman, Kjell Salvanes & Alexander Willén
Abstract: Higher education admission systems play a pivotal role in determining student placement in tertiary institutions, influencing not only immediate academic trajectories but also long-term outcomes. This paper zooms in on a reform in the Norwegian admissions system for higher education and its consequent impacts on student profiles and high school incentives. Specifically, a Norwegian educational reform curtailed opportunities for students to bolster their high school GPAs via specific courses. This paper discerns that such a change disproportionately impacted students who previously leaned on these courses for GPA augmentation. Key findings underscore consistent alterations in the course selections of highly exposed students and spotlight a detrimental effect on their extended educational outcomes.