Essays on Development and Labor Economics
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Date
2021-09-13
Authors
Etcheverry Hernandez, Luciana
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
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.