Economics Theses and Dissertations

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Browsing Economics Theses and Dissertations by Author "Burlando, Alfredo"

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    Empirical Methods for Low-Quality Data
    (University of Oregon, 2020-12-08) Jerman, Michael; Burlando, Alfredo
    This dissertation presents methods for economic analysis in settings characterized by sparse data. In the first substantive chapter, I show that difference-in-differences estimators can be biased in the presence of treatment externalities. I then develop a model that accounts for these externalities, and estimate the model using data on Indian river pollution. I show that failure to account for treatment externalities can substantially bias estimates toward zero. I find significant reductions in measured pollution levels in the areas downstream of sewage treatment facilities when compared to untreated areas. Next, I propose a universal method for disaggregating count statistics. The method is able to disaggregate regional statistics such as those collected by censuses or surveys. I demonstrate the algorithm by disaggregating Ugandan census counts of population, tabooda (kerosene lamp) usage, people consuming two or more meals per day, and subsistence farms counted at the subcounty level (the smallest administrative unit reported by the census). Out-of-sample validation suggests that the procedure performs similarly for each statistic and that out-of-sample errors are approximately mean zero throughout the distribution. When combined with nighttime light luminosity data, the disaggregated data can describe within-subcounty distributions of income and poverty. I find that this previously unobserved within-subcounty inequality accounts for 39.3\% of aggregate observed inequality. Next I show that the disaggregated census data can be combined with satellite-derived air pollution data to estimate pixel-level estimates of pollution exposure. I find that 22\% of aggregate inequality in air pollution exposure is caused by within-subcounty inequality in exposure. Finally, I analyze the allocation of environmental resources following India's general election of 1996. Electorally competitive cities in the Ganges Basin during this period were more likely to receive funding for pollution abatement from the federal government of India. These same cities were less likely to receive increased water pollution monitoring. The empirical findings are explained by forward-looking policymakers engaging in clientelism. I emphasize the need for dramatically increased water pollution monitoring along India's rivers and streams.
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    Essays on Development and Labor Economics
    (University of Oregon, 2021-09-13) Etcheverry Hernandez, Luciana; Burlando, Alfredo
    In chapter II and III of my dissertation I strive to understand the potential that family policies have to enhance gender equality in paid and un-paid work in low- and middle-income countries, by analyzing two distinct policies implementedin Uruguay and Ecuador. First, I study a unique subsidy implemented in Uruguay in 2014 that allows mothers to work half-time while receiving full-time pay for four months after maternity leave ends. Utilizing eleven years of employment survey data in a difference-in-differences and triple difference framework I find an increase in the likelihood of employment in the short-run and possible increases in employment in the middle-run driven by a higher portion of part-time work arrangements. These findings indicate that policies easing the transition back from maternity leave can increase female labor force participation and reduce “child-penalties” in the short and medium-run. Second, I find that paid paternity leave of short duration is effective at increasing the time fathers spend childrearing in the context of Ecuador. More fathers, as a results of the policy, reported spending any time with their children, and the number of hours they report childrearing increased by 20%, up to 4 years after the end of paternity leave benefits. Interestingly, the leave does not lead to changes in employment, number of hours of paid work, or participation in other types of housework, which implies a substitution away from leisure and into time childrearing. Lastly, in chapter IV, my co-authors and I developed a randomized control trial to study the effects of financial inclusion in rural communities in Uganda. In this study existing savings groups (informal finance institutions) gained access to formal group loans from a commercial bank. We show that the bank loan stimulated an immediate and sizable increase in internal lending, which is sustained over time. As a result, members of treated groups had temporarily lower rates of food insecurity, and point estimates suggest sizable increases in income and microenterprise size (which are not statistically significant). However, groups assigned to loans experienced significantly more turnover, suggesting that the possibility of external financing generates powerful selection effects.
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    EXPLORATIONS INTO THE FERTILITY TRANSITION AND FEMALE LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION IN BANGLADESH
    (University of Oregon, 2024-08-07) Siddiqui, SM Shihab; Burlando, Alfredo
    This dissertation is comprised of three papers. Together, they investigate aspects of the fertility and female labor force transition in Bangladesh that started in the 1960s and continuing today. The dissertation is organized as follows: Chapter 1 summarizes the context, and provides an overview of the three research chapters. Chapter 2 analyzes the effect of increased industrial work opportunity on women's employment, reproductive behavior, and human capital accumulation. Using shift-share instrument, I find that increased industrial work opportunity increased women's employment significantly and reduced human capital accumulation very modestly among teenage girls. However, there was no effect on reproductive behavior. Chapter 3 provides the first comprehensive construction, to the best of my knowledge, of completed birth estimates of Bangladeshi women who were born all the way back in 1920. This exercise shows that the rural fertility transition begun with the 1945-50 cohort, within five years of the fertility transition in urban areas. I then present suggestive evidence that agrarian economic conditions, mediated by land availability, was a driver of the transition. Chapter 4 (co-authored with Shankha Chakraborty) utilizes Oaxaca-Blinder decompositions to examine why the female labor force participation rate has increased more in Bangladesh compared to contiguous Indian states since 1990s. We find that while women's education is positively associated with employment in Bangladesh, the reverse is true in the selected Indian states. We also find some evidence that women's relative education compared to men's has been an important factor in explaining this. Chapter 5 concludes the dissertation.
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    Three Essays on Gender in South Asia
    (University of Oregon, 2021-09-13) Javed, Amna; Burlando, Alfredo
    This dissertation explores distinct facets of the association between social institutions and family formation, as it pertains to women in South Asia. In Chapter II, I analyze an increase in the legal age of marriage for women in India and find the policy led to a permanent decrease in teen marriage, despite a lack of widespread enforcement. In communities where the national policy represents a tightening of standards over current norms, the law can benefit young women. In Chapter III, I find that decreases in income lead to increases in crimes in the name of honor. The results indicate that honor killings, primarily believed to be culturally or religiously motivated, are partially explained by shocks to income--short periods of economic distress can increase the risk of violence against vulnerable members of the population. Finally, in Chapter IV, I provide evidence for co-dependencies in fertility behavior in joint household residences. The results highlight the existence of fertility rivalry as a means to improve social status.