Research
The Cost of Waiting for Nationality: Impact on Immigrants' Labor Market Outcomes in Spain
In this paper, I examine the impact of administrative delays in obtaining Spanish nationality on the long-term labor market outcomes of legal immigrants. Using Social Security data from 2006 to 2019 and an instrumental variable strategy, I find that longer delays in nationality acquisition result in significantly lower accumulated earnings over a ten-year period, driven by both lower wages and fewer days worked. Specifically, one additional year of delay reduces accumulated earnings over 10 years by 3.8 to 6.7 percent. To understand the underlying mechanisms, I study the short-term effects of nationality acquisition on job mobility and job quality. The results suggest that delays prolong periods of restricted mobility, hindering access to better employment opportunities. After obtaining the nationality, immigrants can afford a more selective and longer job search that pays off in the long run. These findings underscore the importance of timely nationality acquisition for improving economic outcomes and highlight the need for efficient administrative processes to support immigrant integration.
Working Papers
World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 9874, December 2021
COVID-19 was a major shock to youth entrepreneurs and their businesses in Kenya. This paper studies the causal impact of grants—worth two months of baseline business revenue—and business development services as potential mitigation measures. Using multiple rounds of phone surveys up to seven months from the start of the pandemic, the analysis finds that youth who are assigned business grants or a combination of grants and business development services are significantly more likely to maintain a business, earn more revenue and profits, retain employees, and report higher confidence and satisfaction with life. There are no corresponding effects of business development services alone, although the follow-up period is extremely short for training effects to materialize. These results suggest that cash infusion for young entrepreneurs in times of an aggregate shock can be instrumental in moderating its immediate harmful impacts.
Supporting the Labor Inclusion of People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: Evidence from and RCT in Spain
People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (PID) in Spain have much lower labor participation and employment rates than people without these disabilities. The objective of this study is to obtain causal evidence on the advantage of using the Customized Employment Methodology (CEM) to foster employment and social inclusion of PIDs in the Spanish context, compared to the traditional methodology implemented by the Confederación Plena Inclusión España to date. The impacts of the CEM on labor market outcomes, social inclusion, and well-being are measured. In a randomized controlled trial, a set of PIDs were randomly assigned to a treatment group with the CEM and a control group with the traditional methodology. The results of the analysis indicate that the CEM leads to initially unemployed PIDs working more hours and having more labor contracts, but not a higher employment rate at the end of the intervention. The CEM increases work days in some groups of PIDs, but not employment stability. It also encourages training activities and, in some groups, work experience. Finally, the treatment unambiguously generates higher levels of social inclusion, volunteering, and well-being of PIDs.
Information and Support to Reduce the Non-Take Up of Minimum Incomes: Evidence from a Randomized Control Trial
The Non Take-Up is a phenomenon affecting social benefits worldwide and a key policy issue, as it can undermine the effectiveness, efficiency and equity of social policies. This study aims to test the effectiveness of a social media campaign and an in-person intervention to reduce the Non Take-Up of the national Minimum Income Scheme in Spain, which is around 57% (AIREF, 2022). The randomized control trial allocated 400 low-income neighbourhoods in Spain to one of the following possible treatments: an in-person intervention, a social media intervention, or both. A fourth random group serves as pure control. While the in-person intervention includes outreach activities to raise awareness, advisory services, support in obtaining necessary administrative documentation, guidance and coordination between the individual and the administration, the social media campaign consisted of an informational campaign on Facebook and Instagram. Administrative data reveals that the in-person intervention increased the number of applications in those neighborhoods where it was implemented by 19,5% during the 13 weeks of intervention. We find no significant effect of the social media campaign, and the effect of the incremental program is not statistically different from the in-person one. Importantly, the increase in the number of applications does not lead to an increase in the percentage of non-admitted applications. Results suggest the importance of personalised accompaniment beyond informational campaigns to reduce Non Take-Up rates.
Improving Employability and Psychological Well-being of Minimum Income Recipients through a Labor Reactivation Program: A Pilot Study with Spanish Red Cross
In 2022, long-term unemployment affected 5.1% of the labor force in Spain (INE, 2023a). This study seeks to evaluate measures that can prevent the persistence of people in the social protection system. Specifically, this pilot project implemented by Red Cross Spain, aims to evaluate the effect of providing a specialized program that improves insertion into the labor market and personal autonomy of unemployed adults or with low work intensity. The intervention was carried out between May and November 2023 in six Spanish provinces. The design of the intervention was based on the comparison of two experimental groups: participants were assigned by stratified random assignment to a treatment group and a non-pure control group. The latter group received regular services from Red Cross, actions to strengthen competencies in household economic management, and a simple motivational and orientation session. The treatment group also received a specialized program of motivation, support, and tutorials related to socio-emotional and psychological skills, digital skills, and job search, as well as training modules and certificates of professionalism. The analysis finds statistically significant impacts of the intervention on personal autonomy indicators: it reduces the risk of poor psychological health, increases tolerance to frustration, and improves problem identification, knowledge of resources, and digital skills. The treatment also improves self-perception of the probability of finding a job and increases the number of methods used for job search. Although no effects are found on the work status of the participants, these results may not be seen until after the end of the treatment activities. We conclude that Red Cross’ specialized program provides certain improvements in the employability and personal autonomy of the participants compared to the services offered regularly.
Master Thesis CEMFI No. 1205. Madrid: CEMFI. 2012
By making use of data of immigrants in Argentina, this paper attempts to identify the role of social networks in the probability of working formally. My empirical strategy asks whether new immigrants surrounded by a social network with a high proportion of formal workers have a higher probability of becoming formal workers compared to those with more informal workers in their social network. The use of a Card-type instrument as well as destination and nationality fixed effects allows me to eliminate many of the problems in previous studies. The results provide the first empirical evidence of the importance of the social networks in labor informality and confirm that the quality of the network is important in determining the type of job obtained by new immigrants.
Selected Work in Progress
Family: Burden or Support in Times of Crisis?
During an economic downturn, governments often provide business grants to stimulate entrepreneurship. However, in societies where kinship ties play a significant role, policy design might be suboptimal if potential spillover effects are not accounted for. In this paper, I examine how the impact of self-employment support measures is affected by the level and strength of family ties. I explore the mechanisms through which family networks can either facilitate or hinder entrepreneurial activity. The findings show that entrepreneurs with larger families coped better with the crisis. However, when external funding sources are available, larger family networks diminish the positive effects on entrepreneurship and business performance. The analysis provides evidence of mutual assistance, crowding out, and managerial interference as mechanisms behind these results.