I'm a Ph.D. candidate at the Paris School of Economics, interested in the economics of human and social capital formation in developing countries.
I'm currently visiting UC Berkeley as a CEGA fellow.
oscarmdiazb@gmail.com
Research
Economics and Human Biology, 2025 [Link to paper] [Replication package]
Abstract
Interventions targeting improvements in human capital are often motivated by their potential to break the intergenerational transmission of poverty from parents to children. This study contributes to the thin evidence base on these links by examining outcomes for children of former program beneficiaries of a conditional cash transfer (CCT) program, capitalizing on randomized variation in the timing and CCT’s impact on maternal human capital. We estimate intent-to-treat (ITT) differential effects on early childhood anthropometric and cognitive outcomes for 0–3-year-old children of program beneficiaries [N=366], as well as effects on key domains including nutrition, health, stimulation and the home environment. We find that moderately higher schooling for mothers (19–22 years old) who were the original program beneficiaries did not translate into improvements in anthropometrics or cognitive outcomes for their children. We also find no effects on behaviors commonly thought to be affected by higher education such as investments in nutrition and preventive health, or stimulation. Early program beneficiary mothers, however, had worse mental health outcomes and were more likely to use violent disciplinary practices such as spanking, threatening and punishing. Findings demonstrate the complexity of intergenerational mechanisms across genetic, biological, environmental and behavioral factors, and also suggest the importance of maternal mental health as a mechanism influencing child outcomes.
I'm a PhD student at the Paris School of Economics.
I have an MSc in Public Policy and Development at the Paris School of Economics, an MSc in Economics at the Toulouse School of Economics, and a Bsc from the Rosario School of Economics in Bogota.
I've worked as a Policy advisor in The Ministry of Education of Ethiopia, sponsored by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) fellowship; as a researcher in International Development and Security Center (ISDC); and as a research consultant for the World Bank, UNESCO, J-PAL and the OECD.
Analyzing data from various developping countries, I have researched poverty, inequality, education, gender empowerment, migration, nutrition and agriculture.
You can find more details of my working experience in my CV.
Karen Macours, PhD Advisor.