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Sergio Urzua named Chilean Economist of the Year for 2022
Contributions to policy discussions in Chile recognized
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
Article Reference Troff document (with manpage macros)Voting for Democracy: Chile's Plebiscito and the Electoral Participation of a Generation
This paper assesses if voting for democracy affects long-term electoral participation. We study the effects of participating in Chile's 1988 plebiscite, which determined whether democracy would be reinstated after a 15-year long military dictatorship. Taking advantage of individual-level voting data for upwards of 13 million Chileans, we implement an age-based RD design comparing long run registration and turnout rates across marginally eligible and ineligible individuals. We find that Plebiscite eligibility (participation) significantly increased electoral turnout three decades later, reaching 1.8 (3.3) percentage points in the 2017 Presidential election. These effects are robust to different specifications and distinctive to the 1988 referendum. We discuss potential mechanisms concluding that the scale of initial mobilization explains the estimated effects. We find that plebiscite eligibility induced a sizable share of less educated voters to register to vote compared to eligibles in other upstream elections. Since less educated voters tended to support Chile's governing left-wing coalition, we argue that the plebiscite contributed to the emergence of one party rule the twenty years following democratization.
Located in MPRC People / Sergio Urzua, Ph.D. / Sergio Urzua Publications
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
Article Reference Troff document (with manpage macros)The Return to Private Education: Evidence from School-to-Work Transitions
This paper investigates the labor market returns to high school types. We exploit comprehensive administrative data describing the school-to-work transition for the universe of Chilean students attending tenth grade in 2001. We discuss the role of self-selection into school types, pre-labor market abilities, firm characteristics, and present bounds for the parameters of interest. Attending private high schools has long-lasting e ects on earnings. Moreover, the long-term returns to school-level valueadded measures and monetary investments in education are larger among private-school students. Our findings provide new insights into the association of school choice and the inertia of income inequality.
Located in MPRC People / Sergio Urzua, Ph.D. / Sergio Urzua Publications
Seminar Series: Sergio Urzua, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, University of Maryland
Loans for Higher Education: Does the Dream Come True?
Located in Coming Up
File Troff document (with manpage macros)Heterogenous Economic Returns to Postsecondary Degrees: Evidence from Chile
Sergio Urzua, University of Maryland; Loreto Reyes, Ministry of Finance, Chile; Jorge Rodriguez, University of Chicago; 2013-018
Located in Research / Working Papers / WP Documents
File Troff document (with manpage macros)Loans for Higher Education: Does the Dream Come True?
Sergio Urzua, University of Maryland; Tomás Rau, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Eugenio Rojas, Chilean Budget Office; 2013-017
Located in Research / Working Papers / WP Documents
File Troff document (with manpage macros)Education, Birth Order, and Family Size
Sergio Urzua, University of Maryland, et al.; 2013-016
Located in Research / Working Papers / WP Documents
File Troff document (with manpage macros)The Long-Term Effects of Early Lead Exposure: Evidence from a Case of Environmental Negligence
Sergio Urzua, University of Maryland; Tomás Rau, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Loreto Reyes, Ministry of Finance, Chile; 2013-015
Located in Research / Working Papers / WP Documents