"Analyzing the Impacts of Floods on Intergenerational Mobility: A Historical Economic Perspective" (Proposal)
This paper explores the long-term effects of the 1937 Ohio River Flood on inequality, labor, and education outcomes, contributing to the literature on the economic impacts of natural disasters. While most studies focus on aggregate macroeconomic outcomes, this study explores family-level dynamics using a novel historical dataset linking multiple generations across geographic and temporal dimensions. Employing Synthetic Controls and Propensity Score Matching, it analyzes intergenerational mobility, labor market outcomes in the offspring generation, and education outcomes in a third generation. By combining granular census and geographic data, the study investigates how exposure to the flood influenced outcomes at the city level. It bridges gaps in understanding the micro-level impacts of natural disasters, develops methods to link historical and spatial data, and examines how environmental shocks exacerbate inequality. By focusing on one of the most severe floods of the 20th century, it seeks to inform disaster response strategies and enhance understanding of historical mechanisms shaping inequality and mobility.
"Examining the Effects of an Early Childhood Development Intervention on Cognitive, Socio-Emotional, and Family Wellbeing" (Draft)
While Early Childhood Development (ECD) interventions primarily target children, there is a growing interest in their effects on caregivers and family wellbeing. This paper examines the impact of Chile Grows with You (ChCC), an ECD program in Latin America, on caregivers and children’s cognitive, socio-emotional, and behavioral outcomes. ChCC, a complex system providing universal and targeted benefits since 2008, aims to support children from gestation up to five years old in 2010, with a focus on the most vulnerable families. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey (ELPI) and a regression discontinuity design, this study evaluates local treatment effects under non-parametric estimations. The results indicate significant short-term impacts on maternal cognitive outcomes and personality traits, as well as improvements in children’s communication skills and reduction in behavioral problems. Additionally, the study analyzes family dynamics, showing a decrease in dysfunctional parent-child relationships among ChCC-eligible caregivers. These findings contribute to the literature by examining the program’s effects on both children and caregivers, emphasizing a family-centered approach, and providing empirical evidence for policymakers and practitioners.
"Multigenerational Dynamic Complementarity of Early Childhood Education Programs" (Draft)
with Juan Pantano and Victor Borda.
This paper examines the multigenerational impacts of early childhood interventions, focusing on Head Start, a program designed to foster human capital development. Our analysis explores how Head Start exposure in one generation enhances the effectiveness of investments in the next generation. Using longitudinal data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 Cohort (NLSY79) and their children, combined with county-level data on Head Start implementation and funding, we estimate the program’s multigenerational effects on offspring academic achievement. Our findings indicate that Head Start exposure in the parent generation affects positively their offspring academic outcomes, particularly in reading skills. However, direct exposure to Head Start in the offspring generation alone produces mixed results. The strongest benefits arise from combined exposure across both generations, highlighting significant intergenerational complementarities. These results underscore the importance of sustained and integrated early childhood interventions to break cycles of disadvantage and enhance human capital across generations.
"Roots of Resilience: Analysis of Dust Bowl Migration Choices on Children’s Outcomes" (Draft)
The Dust Bowl of the 1930s caused widespread environmental devastation, leading to drought, dust storms, and economic hardship for millions of families in the United States. Leveraging geographic and intensity variation, this paper analyzes both the direct and indirect effects of families' migration choices on children's outcomes across five states. Direct effects are defined as those suffered by families remaining in the Dust Bowl area throughout the natural disaster, while indirect effects result from families migrating as a mitigation measure in response to the disaster. Using linked Census data from 1920-1940, the study focuses on families from the five most affected states who either migrated or did not migrate by 1940. Findings reveal mixed results of the migration choices due to natural disasters. This research highlights the importance of considering intergenerational effects when analyzing climate adaptation decisions and contributes to a deeper understanding of the enduring impacts of climate disasters on families.
The impact of educational technologies in higher education.
with Goretti Cabaleiro. GiST Education and Learning Research Journal (2020).
The formation of human capital is crucial for the social, cultural, and economic development of countries. The current literature extensively examines the growing role of technology in the careers of college and school graduates. While educational technology in higher education offers numerous benefits, its implementation also poses challenges. Academia has explored various tools to enhance learning processes, but measuring the quality and effectiveness of these tools remains challenging. This literature review examines the issues related to educational technology in higher education.
Competing risk model in “Senior Workers”: Evidence of the Chilean labor market.
Revista Latinoamericana de Desarrollo Económico - LAJED (2020).
The age composition of the labor market has changed in recent decades, leading to a significant increase in workers over 50 years old. This document analyzes the patterns within the labor market of workers who are close to or at retirement age, referred to as “Senior Workers,” in the presence of an exogenous shock of job destruction. It contributes to existing literature by identifying the characteristics of labor reintegration toward different exit vectors of this population group. Data from the 2004-2015 Social Protection Survey of Chile were used to apply the Competitive Risk Model. The analysis found that senior unemployed individuals are less likely to find formal employment than workers under 50 years of age, a trend that worsens as they approach 60-80 years. Gender and age gaps were analyzed, and comparisons were made with other duration models.
"Analysis of housing prices after the implementation of the yellow line of "Mi Teleférico" through the hedonic price method"
Universidad Católica Boliviana (2017).