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Melissa Kearney's research illuminates COVID recovery potential
We must deliberately spend and invest in ways that will strengthen our capitalist economy and expand economic security, she writes
Located in News
John Haltiwanger featured in Barron's on New Economic Indicators during COVID-19 Pandemic
Two new indicators designed to gauge economic activity on a real-time basis show that the U.S. has already experienced an economic crisis sharper than the 2008 recession and continues to deteriorate.
Located in News
Article ReferenceWage Inequality in Latin America: Learning from Matched Employer-Employee Data
Inequality in Latin America fell substantially in the early 2000s. In this paper, we take advantage of administrative matched employee-employed data in Brazil, Chile and Ecuador to examine whether these inequality trends held in the formal sector, as well. We document a significant decrease in the log variance of earnings in Brazil and Ecuador in the early 2000s, whereas inequality in Chile between 2008 and 2015 remained largely flat. In this context, we find that inequality among salaried workers is largely a between-firm phenomenon across these three countries. We expand on our descriptive analysis and estimate an additive worker and firm fixed effects model to understand the driving factors behind inequality in the region. We find a significant decline in between-firm inequality in Brazil and a modest one in Chile. We last focus our attention on the commodities and manufacturing sectors, which were directly exposed to two large external shocks, the commodity-boom and the ''China Shock". We find an increase in inequality in the former sector accompanied by an reduction in inequality in the latter across the region.
Located in MPRC People / Sergio Urzua, Ph.D. / Sergio Urzua Publications
John Haltiwanger featured in The Wall Street Journal on Job Loss during COVID-19
When fewer firms open, it can weigh heavily on the job market.
Located in News
Maureen Cropper talks about Clean Air Act on Resources for the Future
Cropper discusses a recent working paper that assesses the full benefits and costs of the groundbreaking law’s many programs to protect the environment.
Located in News
Article ReferenceThe Insights and Illusions of Consumption Measurements
While household well-being derives from long-term average rates of consumption, welfare comparisons typically rely on shorter-duration survey measurements. We develop a new strategy to identify the distribution of these long-term rates by leveraging a large-scale randomization in Iraq that elicited repeated short-duration measurements from diaries and recall questions. Identification stems from diary-recall differences in reports from the same household, does not require reports to be error-free, and hinges on a research design with broad replicability. Our strategy delivers practical and costeffective suggestions for designing survey modules to yield the closest measurements of consumption well-being. In addition, we find little empirical support for the claim that acquisition diaries yield the most accurate measurement of poverty and inequality and offer new insights to interpret and reconcile diary-recall differences in household surveys.
Located in MPRC People / Erich Battistin, Ph.D. / Erich Battistin Publications
Article ReferencePrimer on Costs of Action/ Inaction and Communication to Policymakers
To support the African ChemObs project (the Integrated Health and Environment Observatories and Legal and Institutional Strengthening for the Sound Management of Chemicals in Africa), we provide a critical review of methodologies for valuing the health damages from policy inaction associated with chemical exposures. In particular, we discuss how disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and IQ loss should be valued. We conclude by providing advice on communicating the costs of inaction and the benefits and costs of action to policymakers. By the social costs of inaction, we mean the private or market costs, as well as the external costs, from pollution exposures compared with no exposure. Knowledge of these damages can then lead to policies designed to force investment and operating decisions in the market to account for (internalize) such costs/damages. The costs of inaction can be distinguished from the benefits and costs of action. The benefits of action are the value of, for example, the health improvements from regulations or other forms of action. These actions usually come with a cost of resources to bring about such actions. The net benefits to society of an action are the benefits minus the costs of action. In general, as regulations of chemicals rarely eliminate all exposures, the costs of inaction generally exceed (in absolute terms) the benefits of action.
Located in MPRC People / Maureen Cropper, Ph.D. / Maureen Cropper Publications
Sandra Hofferth interviews Daniel Hamermesh
Comments on work-non-work balance, trends for rich-country time use, and labor market participation changes since 2000
Located in News
Leonard organizes 37th BREAD Conference
Major networking and discussion event a cross-section of development economics leadership
Located in News
Article Reference Troff document (with manpage macros)Training, Soft Skills and Productivity: Evidence from a Field Experiment
This paper examines a training intervention aimed at boosting leadership and communication skills among employees of a large Latin American retailer. The identification exploits an experimental design in the context of a difference-in-difference strategy. Using longitudinal information obtained from the firm and two skills surveys, we document large positive effects of the training on store- and individual- level productivity. The intervention was more effective in boosting leadership than communication skills. Spillovers from trained managers to untrained sales representatives also contribute to the main effects. Our findings confirm the possibility of increasing productivity through training targeting critical soft-skills.
Located in MPRC People / Sergio Urzua, Ph.D. / Sergio Urzua Publications