Research

Selection into Job Training Programs: Evidence from Indonesia
Dissertation

Despite being the most common type of Active Labor Market Policies, job training programs are proven in the literature to have modest impacts. Using the Indonesia Labor Force Survey, I model individual awareness, application decisions, selection criteria, and the program’s effects on labor market outcomes of Indonesia’s national job training program (Program Kartu Prakerja). To extend the analysis, I incorporate the Indonesia Family Life Survey to simulate lifetime income as the key determinant of an individual’s application decision, treating stigma as a cost of participation. I allow the error terms across all equations to be correlated and estimate the model using maximum simulated likelihood, with probabilities simulated using the GHK algorithm. I find that program participation significantly increases the probability of employment but decreases log monthly wages. The primary contribution of this paper is a counterfactual analysis of alternative selection mechanisms designed to improve labor market outcomes for both the overall population and key subgroups.

Determinants of Housing Situations for Adults with Cognitive Impairments
with Steven Stern

We use multinomial logit and data from the American Community Survey and State of States in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities to estimate how standard explanatory variables and two fiscal state-specific variables affect living arrangements of people with intellectual disabilities. We find that state expenditure on people with intellectual disabilities has a large effect on the proportion of such people who live with their parents.

Choosing Informal Work: Determinants and Consequences for Indonesian Women
Indonesian Quarterly 2025 Vol. 53 No. 3

Informal employment is a defining feature of labor markets in developing countries and is shaped by a notable gender dimension: women are overrepresented in informal work. A key reason is the flexibility it provides, offering adaptable hours which helps women balance paid and unpaid responsibilities. This paper investigates the determinants of women’s participation in the informal sector and the impact of informal work on labor market outcomes. The analysis shows that women with lower educational attainment, those who are married, and those with young children are more likely to work informally, whereas access to childcare lowers this likelihood. Informal employment is associated with a 24.5 percent reduction in monthly wages and a decline of 5.2 working hours per week. These findings highlight the importance of reforms in both education and the formal sector, such as flexible work options, family leave policies, and affordable childcare, to reduce women’s reliance on informal employment.