Essays on Labor Economics

The first chapter studies the life-cycle behavior of two cohorts of American women: those born in the 1960s and those born in the 1980s. Millennial women are more likely to work full time, work in professional, health, and education-related occupations, and be childless in their mid-thirties than women born in the 1960s. I build a life-cycle model that incorporates labor supply, occupation, and fertility choices, and estimate the model for the older cohort. I analyze the role of two forces in explaining the data patterns: (i) labor market factors, including changes in the wage structure and in the initial joint distribution of workers\u27 skills and occupations\u27 skills requirements, and (ii) family factors, including changes in marital status across cohorts. I find that both mechanisms are important and together are able to (i) explain the changes in occupational sorting across cohorts; (ii) predict 74% of the changes in the share of women in full-time work; (iii) explain 85% of the decrease in the share of women with two children and (iv) explain 81% of the increase in the share of childless women in their mid-thirties. The second chapter, which is work performed jointly with Lucas Finamor and Boryana Ilieva, studies women and men’s labor market and insurance decisions around childbirth in Chile, a country with widespread informality. We identify three sectors of employment: formal, informal and self-employment. An individual in the informal sector works in a private firm without a labor contract and a self-employed person is an independent worker. We document the following findings. First, there are no significant changes in the share of workers with no labor contract after childbirth for both men and women, but women are more likely to switch into self-employment where the effect is larger for those highly educated. Second, we show that highly educated women are more likely to work remotely after the first birth. In contrast, low educated women do not change work location. Third, women are also more likely to switch to less cognitive intensive occupations after childbirth, which may explain the fall in wages after the event. Fourth, women are less likely to keep private health insurance after their first birth. Finally, we explore the effects of the 2008 Chilean pension system reform on formal work decisions. We observe that women who had children after 2008 are less likely to leave formal employment, in comparison to women who had children before the reform was implemented. In the third chapter, which is joint work with Paula Calvo and Zhengren Zhu, we investigate the role of maternal mental health on children\u27s cognitive and mental health development. We propose a model that incorporates maternal mental health as a separate input in the human capital production function, different from cognitive and non-cognitive skills. We employ the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, where we link mothers and their children, to document the empirical patterns that motivate this study: First, poor maternal mental health is positively associated with poor mental health of her child and negatively associated with her child\u27s cognitive development (which includes math and reading recognition). Second, poor maternal mental health is associated with worse parental practices at different ages. Third, children\u27s mental health problems affect their cognitive outcomes in school. Fourth, children with poor mental health are more likely to have mental health problems in adult life, have lower wages and lower educational attainment. Our model incorporates these key mechanisms. We describe the estimation steps and propose counterfactual exercises

The effect of one-on-one assistance on the compliance with labor regulation. A field experiment in extremely vulnerable settings.

This is the first paper to analyze the effects of intense personal assistance on the compliance with labor regulation, within a population of deeply disadvantaged informal workers, using a field experiment. We randomly assign one-on-one assistance to these workers, and, within this treatment group, we randomly assign money to cover the cost of fulfilling the legal requirements to get a permit to work on the streets. One month after the intervention, we find that a worker who receives one-on-one assistance is three times more likely to comply with the legal documentation required by the government than a worker in the control group. We also find that a worker who receives both one-on-one assistance and cost coverage is four times more likely to comply with the legal requirements. The findings of this study shed light on strategies to help highly vulnerable workers to comply with labor regulations

Automation Concept for Cockpit Crew Integration into Trajectory-Based Dispatch Towing

International hub airports are commonly the bottleneck of commercial airline flight operations. Social and political constraints often inhibit construction expansions of the surface infrastructure. Consequent airport congestion leads to increased taxi times, causing delays as well as additional fuel consumption and emissions. Surface trajectory-based operations (STBO), which are addressed by current research activities, reduce taxi times by introducing time or speed constraints along the taxi route. However, present-day aircraft are not equipped with technologies enabling the precise execution of predefined continuous speed profiles. This thesis proposes a retro-fit concept named trajectory-based dispatch towing (TBDT), which allows present-day aircraft to execute STBO without extensive modifications. The concept suggests a further automated version of the novel towing vehicle TaxiBot as the enabling technology. Combined with an innovative cockpit application running on an electronic flight bag (EFB), the envisaged tractor shall support pilots of conventional aircraft to maneuver according to dynamic trajectories. Following an analysis of conventional taxi operations, scenarios for the successive introduction of TBDT are developed. The consecutive steps focus on the integration of pilots into the designed taxi procedures. The aim of this research is to demonstrate the general feasibility of TBDT and to evaluate different automation modes from the perspective of the cockpit crew. The iterative approach includes expert interviews and preliminary simulator trials. Qualitative feedback and quantitative measurements support the development of a prototypical human-machine interface (HMI) intended to run on an EFB. This graphical interface is supplemented by soft- and hardware implementations as well as an automatic control concept realized in the flight research simulator, D-AERO, at the Institute of Flight Systems and Automatic Control (FSR) of Technische Universität Darmstadt. Based on this setup, 24 commercial airline pilots participated in the main simulator campaign. By means of a repeated measures design, every pilot completed one conventional taxi run and four TBDT operations. The TBDT runs differ with regard to automated or manual steering, braking, and their corresponding combinations. The trials investigate the interference of the automation modes and the aspects of performance, traffic awareness, user satisfaction, and acceptance of the pilots. The results of objective and subjective measurements indicate that all considered automation modes are generally suitable for executing TBDT. Furthermore, possible automation of the steering control has no significant effect on the measurements. On the contrary, the automation of brake input during TBDT results in enhanced performance and traffic awareness. The analysis of questionnaires shows a correlation between the expected safety benefit and the willingness of the pilots to hand over the speed control to an automated instance. The evaluation results allow for both the detection of the feasibility of the concept as well as for the formulation of advice regarding the aspired amount of automation. The thesis is complemented by recommendations regarding future development and research activities

Brecha de género en la educación secundaria

In Latin America, the debate on heterogeneous results in education has been centered, to a greater extent, on the differences between the wealthiest and the poorest individuals. This focus has guided policy makers. There are, however, other significant differences that receive scarce or null attention from public policies in the region, being one of these the gender gap in education. The focus of the present study is to compare males with females in three key educational outcomes: dropout rates from formal education, education lag (in schooling years) and completion of different education levels. We utilize a dataset that covers a period of 24 years (Continuous Household Survey: 1990-2013) and a dataset with youth and adolescents’ information for 2008 (National Survey of Youth and Adolescence: 2008). Both datasets are country representative. We make emphasis on adolescence (13-18 years old), a stage in which the worst educational outcomes are found in Latin America. Results show a significant gender gap, with a persistent sign through the period: male students present higher dropout rates, are left behind in schooling years and have lower rates of completion of Middle and High School. This finding is robust in different contexts of household income, home city, ethnicity, public or private educational institution and family structure. And, strikingly, the magnitude of the gender gap has remained nearly unchanged in the last two decades. This study analyzes possible explanations behind these results and provides qualitative data from teachers interviewed that belong to public and private secondary schools. The inability to diminish the gender gap and the prevalence of the lack of motivation among students to continue their studies, foster future research, and are a call for better policy designs that take into account the differences in gender

A Formaldehyde Sampling Strategy for a Medical Center

The uses of formaldehyde in a medical center, commercial availability, and possible health effects of exposure are discussed. The new OSHA standard and the need for this study are presented. Formaldehyde usage is classified according to type, location, and amount of use. A sampling strategy was developed to determine possible exposures throughout the medical center. Available sampling methods and analytical procedures are listed and those chosen are discussed. Sample results are presented by area according to type of use. A brief discussion of operations being carried out in each area and a summary of sampling results are given. Results of almost all formaldehyde sampling were below new OSHA standards. For those above prescribed OSHA levels, all follow-up samples were below the standard after implementing administrative controls. Recommendations are made to help with continued formaldehyde sampling at the medical center. The medical center is currently in compliance with the new OSHA requirements. Reliable, efficient, and cost effective means of routine sampling needed to stay in compliance are discussed.Master of Science in Public Healt

Gender and high frequency vs low frequency tasks in a context of joint-liability incentives

We study the impact of high and low frequency incentives in a joint-liability framework on six academic outcomes of undergraduate students using a randomized field experiment. As recently documented in health literature, incentives to exercise are effective in developing healthy habits. Therefore, we design groups of three students and provide a premium to the homework’s grade if all the members of the group (three) meet some requirements. We investigate how the frequency of these take home tests affect the students study habits and thus, the academic outcomes. We find that there are no differences in the student’s educational outcomes between the high and low frequency groups. We also explore if male and female students respond differently to a joint-liability incentives scheme. We find that this treatment improves the accumulated grade average of male students, but not for females. This finding is in line with previous research on joint-liability and gender behavior, but now we present it in a novel context. Finally, the paper outlines the main evaluation challenges associated with a field experiment in the classroom and provide some lessons to improve evaluation designs and to foster future randomized controlled trials in this area

Brecha de género en la educación secundaria: singularidades de la mujer y el varón en las estrategias educativas.

El presente estudio se centra en comparar el comportamiento de los hombres respecto a las mujeres en tres variables claves para los logros educativos: el atraso escolar, la deserción del sistema formal y las tasas de culminación de los distintos niveles educativos. Explotamos la existencia de datos representativos de toda la población de Uruguay durante 24 años (Encuesta Continua de Hogares: 1990-2013) y datos provenientes de la Encuesta Nacional a la Juventud y Adolescencia (2008). El foco está en la adolescencia (de 13 a 18 años), que es donde se concentran los indicadores de turbulencias en materia académica en América Latina. Nuestras mediciones muestran una brecha sistemática, con un signo persistente en todo el período: los adolescentes varones presentan mayores tasas de rezago y deserción, y menores tasas de culminación del ciclo básico y bachillerato. 

Parents’ aspirations and commitment with education. Lessons from a randomized control trial in a shantytown

This paper documents the impact of an after-school program called Apoyo Escolar, sited in one of the most vulnerable neighborhoods of a developing country, Uruguay. The outcomes of interest are academic achievement, behavior at school and grade retention. By a field experiment, we explore the interaction effects of being randomly assigned to an after-school program with an indicator of parent commitment - an unaddressed question in previous literature. We found novel results that should guide policy design. Increasing time spent in safe settings does not guarantee academic success: the after-school program is effective in improving academic performance when children have committed parents. And students’ performance at school is highly correlated with parents’ educational expectations. Thus, the interaction between hope, family and after-school for disadvantaged children deserves more attention in policy design

Brecha de género en la educación secundaria

In Latin America, the debate on heterogeneous results in education has been centered, to a greater extent, on the differences between the wealthiest and the poorest individuals. This focus has guided policy makers. There are, however, other significant differences that receive scarce or null attention from public policies in the region, being one of these the gender gap in education. The focus of the present study is to compare males with females in three key educational outcomes: dropout rates from formal education, education lag (in schooling years) and completion of different education levels. We utilize a dataset that covers a period of 24 years (Continuous Household Survey: 1990-2013) and a dataset with youth and adolescents’ information for 2008 (National Survey of Youth and Adolescence: 2008). Both datasets are country representative. We make emphasis on adolescence (13-18 years old), a stage in which the worst educational outcomes are found in Latin America. Results show a significant gender gap, with a persistent sign through the period: male students present higher dropout rates, are left behind in schooling years and have lower rates of completion of Middle and High School. This finding is robust in different contexts of household income, home city, ethnicity, public or private educational institution and family structure. And, strikingly, the magnitude of the gender gap has remained nearly unchanged in the last two decades. This study analyzes possible explanations behind these results and provides qualitative data from teachers interviewed that belong to public and private secondary schools. The inability to diminish the gender gap and the prevalence of the lack of motivation among students to continue their studies, foster future research, and are a call for better policy designs that take into account the differences in gender

Frequency of testing. Lessons from a field experiment in higher education.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of frequent testing on the performance of undergraduate freshmen. Methodology The impact evaluation of the intervention is designed as a field experiment -a randomized control trial. First, instructor divided the class in groups of three students in a joint-liability framework, a setting that fosters peer monitoring among students. Then, the groups were randomly assigned to high-frequency testing (tests on a weekly schedule) or a low-frequency testing (tests on a biweekly schedule). Each testing condition lasted for 15 weeks, and data on academic achievement were collected both before and after the intervention. Findings Although high-frequency groups show a higher mean performance on academic results, the findings do not indicate a definitive improvement in performance in weekly versus biweekly testing. We related our findings with recent discoveries on students’ perception of frequent assessments and its relation to motivation. Originality A large body of educational literature investigates the effect of the frequency of testing on learning performance. Less attention has been devoted to explore the mechanisms behind that relationship. We contribute to this emerging literature analyzing the effect of test frequency on a sample of Uruguayan university students, in a novel setting (a joint-liability framework), exploring mechanisms and suggesting lessons for future research