Research

Abstract: "A new life cycle of women’s labor force participation has emerged" Goldin and Mitchell (2017). Compared to previous cohorts, the employment profile of American college-educated married women born after the mid-1950s is flatter and higher with no hump but with a dip in the middle between ages 30-39. At the same time, these younger cohorts have delayed births, but their completed fertility rate has increased. I develop a quantitative theory to explain the changes in college-educated women's employment and fertility decisions across cohorts. First, I provide reduced-form evidence of a positive correlation between fertility and employment decisions. Second, I build a life-cycle model of labor supply and fertility decisions. My estimates indicate that college-educated women's marginal returns to experience increased by 46 percent. Although on-the-job accumulation of experience plays a crucial role, the model does not generate an increase in the total fertility rate in the absence of infertility treatments. Thus, to understand why women's new life-cycle employment profiles and fertility decisions are changing, both factors must be considered.

Presented: XXV Workshop on Dynamic Macroeconomics  (July 2022),   Spanish Economic Association  (December 2022),   5th Fiscal Policy Modelling European Commission Workshop (March 2023),   RES-SES 2023 Annual Conference (April 2023), EUI PhD Conference  (June 2023), BSE Summer Forum Workshop on Income Dynamics and the Family   (June 2023), EEA-ESEM Barcelona 2023  (August 2023),  Spring Meeting of Young Economists (SMYE) (September 2023), VI Workshop of the Spanish Macroeconomics Network (October 2023), 2023 Fed St. Louis-JEDC-SCG-SNB  (October 2023).

Abstract: Are financial incentives effective in increasing fertility rates? Empirical evidence suggests they are, primarily in the short run (around implementation). Can such policies also increase the total number of children in the long run? We address this question by using a structural life-cycle model of fertility and labor supply, calibrated to replicate the short-run effects of a cash transfer paid at childbirth implemented in 2007 in Spain. The model incorporates labor market duality, a defining feature of Spanish labor markets that negatively impacts fertility. Our calibrated model replicates a 6% increase in fertility rates in the short run but only generates a 3% rise in completed fertility over women’s lifetimes— the long run. Eliminating labor market duality increases lifetime fertility by 6.62%, but the discrepancy between short- and long-run effects of the incentive persists. These results highlight the limited impact of financial incentives alone to sustain fertility gains.

Best Paper Award at the 27th (Spring) Meeting of Young Economists, 2023

Presented: 2023 Frankfurt – Mannheim Macro Workshop (October 2023), Seminar at Trier University (February 2024), Society for Income Dynamics (June 2024),  Lisbon Macro Workshop (August 2024), Seminar at Würzburg University (November 2024), WE_ARE Women in Economics: Advancing Research in Economics (March 2025),  Seminar at Universidad de Alicante (March 2025), UC3M Economics PhD Alumni Conference (June 2025), BSE summer forum  (Income Dynamics and the Family) (June 2025).

Previously circulated as: When Wives Command: Household Financial Portfolio Choices and Marital Property Regime

Abstract: This paper studies the relationship between married couples' portfolio choices and property division rules. Using rich household survey data, we exploit the regional variation in marital laws in Spain to estimate the causal effects of property division rules on household financial investment. We find that separate-property couples hold riskier financial portfolios than community-property ones when wives lead household finances. To rationalize this gap in risky assets holdings, we develop a financial portfolio choice model where couples are subject to divorce risk but differ in their property division rule and the gender of the spouse making financial decisions. A model featuring sufficiently high dissolution costs of marital assets for community-property wives can replicate the empirical estimates. High dissolution costs of marital assets upon divorce reduce the outside option for community-property spouses, encouraging precautionary savings in the form of safe assets during marriage compared to their separate-property counterparts who bear no cost. Higher partner savings transfers in divorce attenuate this mechanism, while low-income levels reinforce it. 

First Prize in the Antonio Dionis Soler 2023 Research Awards by the Spanish Institute of Analysts (Instituto Español de Analistas)

Presented: SAEe  (December 2023), EAYE (May 2024), IMFS Workshop on Financial Stability and Financial Literacy (May 2025),  2025 Annual Meeting Society for Economic Dynamics (scheduled June 2025).

Previously circulated as: Gender Gaps in the Labor Market and Social Security Finances

Abstract: Using a calibrated overlapping generations model for Spain, this paper assesses whether the rise in female labor force participation can mitigate the fiscal pressures of aging on pay-as-you-go pensions. The increased employment of married women has financed roughly 10% of male pensions up to 2050, easing short-run funding needs. However, as more women acquire pension rights, this effect reverses, leading to long-run redistribution toward women. The paper also examines a gender-based payroll tax cut that lowers rates for women, boosting female employment, narrowing gender gaps in earnings and pensions, and improving welfare for new cohorts. These findings underscore the central role of female labor market participation in easing Social Security’s financial strain and highlight the potential of gender-based tax policies to reduce gender disparities and enhance economic well-being.

Presented: Minnesota-Wisconsin International/Macro Student Workshop (May 2022), Spanish Economic Association  (December 2021), 13th Applied Economics Conference: Labour, Health, Education and Welfare (October 2021), Brazilian Meeting on Family and Gender Economics  (August 2021), Workshop on Dynamic Macroeconomics (July 2021), XIV Labour Economics Meeting (June 2021), 11th Annual Conference of the Spanish Association of Law and Economics (June 2021), 13th Ph.D. Workshop in Economics at Collegio Carlo Alberto and the University of Turin (December 2020),  Spanish Macro Network (October 2024), Spanish Economic Association (December 2024),  EAYE (May 2025), Meeting of the Society of Economics of the Household (June 2025).