Publications
Dynamic Incentives in Retirement Earnings-Replacement Benefits (with Andres Dean and Sebastian Fleitas)
Accepted, Review of Economics and Statistics.
Links: Pre-publication draft | Online Appendix | Previous version circulated as IZA DP No. 12982
We analyze dynamic incentives in pension systems created by the use of a small set of final years of earnings to compute benefits. Using social security records and household surveys from Uruguay, we show that self-employed workers and some employees of small firms respond to these incentives by increasing reported earnings in the benefit calculation window. We find evidence that suggests that these responses are explained by changes in earnings reporting and not in total earnings or labor supply. Back-of-the envelope calculations indicate that this behavior increases the cost of pensions by about 0.2% of the GDP.
Accepted, Review of Economics and Statistics.
Links: Pre-publication draft | Online Appendix | Previous version circulated as IZA DP No. 12982
We analyze dynamic incentives in pension systems created by the use of a small set of final years of earnings to compute benefits. Using social security records and household surveys from Uruguay, we show that self-employed workers and some employees of small firms respond to these incentives by increasing reported earnings in the benefit calculation window. We find evidence that suggests that these responses are explained by changes in earnings reporting and not in total earnings or labor supply. Back-of-the envelope calculations indicate that this behavior increases the cost of pensions by about 0.2% of the GDP.
Short-Run Effects of Parental Job Loss on Child Health (with Jessamyn Schaller)
American Journal of Health Economics (2019). Links: Ungated draft | Policy Brief (CPR, UC Davis) |
Previous version circulated as NBER Working Paper No. 21745
Recent research suggests that parental job loss has negative effects on children's outcomes, including their academic achievement and long-run educational and labor market outcomes. In this paper we turn our attention to the effects of parental job loss on children's health. We combine health data from 16 waves of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, which allows us to use a fixed effects specification and still have a large sample of parental job displacements. We find that paternal job loss is harmful to children's physical and mental health, particularly among children in low-socioeconomic status (SES) families. By contrast, we find that maternal job loss does not have detrimental effects on child health. Increases in public health insurance coverage compensate for close to half of the loss in private coverage that follows parental displacement, and we find no significant changes in medical care utilization.
American Journal of Health Economics (2019). Links: Ungated draft | Policy Brief (CPR, UC Davis) |
Previous version circulated as NBER Working Paper No. 21745
Recent research suggests that parental job loss has negative effects on children's outcomes, including their academic achievement and long-run educational and labor market outcomes. In this paper we turn our attention to the effects of parental job loss on children's health. We combine health data from 16 waves of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, which allows us to use a fixed effects specification and still have a large sample of parental job displacements. We find that paternal job loss is harmful to children's physical and mental health, particularly among children in low-socioeconomic status (SES) families. By contrast, we find that maternal job loss does not have detrimental effects on child health. Increases in public health insurance coverage compensate for close to half of the loss in private coverage that follows parental displacement, and we find no significant changes in medical care utilization.
Working Papers
Medicaid for middle-class families? Job loss and health insurance coverage of parents and children
(with Chloe East, Elira Kuka and Jessamyn Schaller)
Draft available by request.
We use event study methodology to estimate the effects of job loss on the health insurance coverage of children and parents and identify the mitigating role of public insurance (Medicaid/CHIP). We document striking differences in family insurance coverage patterns after job loss across three income groups, with the largest loss of private health insurance occurring in middle class families. While this leads to large gaps in insurance coverage for middle-class parents, we find that access to public health insurance mitigates the effects on children’s coverage through two channels: reduced exposure before job loss and increased take up afterwards.
(with Chloe East, Elira Kuka and Jessamyn Schaller)
Draft available by request.
We use event study methodology to estimate the effects of job loss on the health insurance coverage of children and parents and identify the mitigating role of public insurance (Medicaid/CHIP). We document striking differences in family insurance coverage patterns after job loss across three income groups, with the largest loss of private health insurance occurring in middle class families. While this leads to large gaps in insurance coverage for middle-class parents, we find that access to public health insurance mitigates the effects on children’s coverage through two channels: reduced exposure before job loss and increased take up afterwards.
Short and Medium Run Impacts of Preschool Education: Evidence from State Pre-K Programs
Revise & Resubmit Journal of Population Economics
Links: Latest version | Previous version circulated as Equitable Growth WP No. 1204 | Coverage by Equitable Growth
I study the effects of state preschool programs on child development, health, and academic progress from ages 5 to 15. Using data from state legislatures and two national household surveys, I leverage variation in the timing of implementation across states to look at the dynamics of reduced-form effects of a large group of pre-K programs. I find that pre-K improves developmental outcomes in the short run and persistently reduces grade retention, especially for low-income children in states with universal pre-K. I also find an increase in missed school days in the short run, but no evidence of significant effects on health outcomes.
Revise & Resubmit Journal of Population Economics
Links: Latest version | Previous version circulated as Equitable Growth WP No. 1204 | Coverage by Equitable Growth
I study the effects of state preschool programs on child development, health, and academic progress from ages 5 to 15. Using data from state legislatures and two national household surveys, I leverage variation in the timing of implementation across states to look at the dynamics of reduced-form effects of a large group of pre-K programs. I find that pre-K improves developmental outcomes in the short run and persistently reduces grade retention, especially for low-income children in states with universal pre-K. I also find an increase in missed school days in the short run, but no evidence of significant effects on health outcomes.
Work in Progress
Motherhood and maternity leave: effects and responses from workers and firms in the presence of informal labor markets (with Andrés Dean and Sebastian Fleitas).
Means-Tested Programs and the Distribution of Reported Earnings in a Context of High Informality (with Marco Manacorda and Andrea Vigorito).
No place like home? Home size, unemployment, and divorce (with Edoardo Ciscato and Thimo De Schouwer)
