Working Papers
Dust to Dust: Tracing Air Pollution’s Impact on Work Accidents
with Ismael Moreno-Martinez
Draft
Presented (or will be presented) at: 24th EAERE Annual Conference, KU Leuven; 2nd Young AERNA Day, University of Girona; 10th Atlantic Workshop on Energy and Environmental Economics; Early Career Workshop on the Environment, Climate Change and Disasters, Gran Sasso Science Institute; 1st International Conference of the Georgian Economic Association; Microeconometrics Working Group, EUI; Norges Bank; Institute for Labour Law and Industrial Relations in the European Union
Coverage: La Fonte
Abstract
This study offers novel causal estimates of the effect of air pollution on workplace accidents. We focus on a near world-wide natural source of air pollution: dust precipitation. We use administrative data on the universe of work accidents reported in Spain. Our estimates imply that an average day of dust precipitation induces a 1.2 percent increase in work accidents. We find these effects are pervasive for workers of different occupations, income levels and demographic characteristics. We also provide evidence supporting temporary impairment of physical and cognitive performance as the main causal channel.Recruting Better Teachers? Evidence from a higher Education Reform in Chile
with Sofia Sierra Vasquez
and Adriano De Falco
Draft
Presented: 8th LEER conference, 1st CESifo/ifo Junior Workshop on the Economics of Education, EALE 2023, SAEe 2023, AIEL - Padua Workshop on the Economics of Human Capital 2024, EAYE conference 2024, 6th QMUL Economics and Finance Workshop (2024), BSE Summer Forum (2024), XVI Labour Economics Meeting.
Prizes: Luis Toharia Grant for young researchers in Labour Economics
Coverage: La Fonte
Abstract
This paper analyzes the impact of a recruitment policy aimed at improving the quality of new teachers. The reform introduced a scholarship to incentivize the enrollment of high-achieving high school graduates in teacher training programs and imposed enrollment restrictions on low-achieving high school graduates. The screening device used to define achievement was the national standardized university entry exam. Using rich administrative data, we document that the reform was effective in improving the average test scores of new teachers, especially in public schools. To assess the impact of the reform on teacher quality, we construct teacher value-added (TVA) measures based on standardized test scores of their pupils. Our findings indicate that the reform led to a significant increase in the TVA of mathematics teachers, equivalent to 30\% of their standard deviation. However, it did not affect the average TVA of Spanish teachers. We provide evidence that this heterogeneity across subjects can be explained by differences in the predictive power of test scores on teacher quality. Finally, we show that the increase in average teacher quality cannot be explained solely by the higher presence of high-achieving teachers.Work in Progress
Bidding for the Environment: Allocation Independence in Cap-and-Trade Systems
with Marie Alder
Temperature and Learning in Chile
Policy Work
Investment Report 2023/2024: Transforming for Competitiveness, European Investment Bank, Chapter 5
A positive trade-off: Emissions reduction and costs under Phase IV of the Emissions Trading System
with Jan Eric Hagendorn and Fotios Kalantzis
EIB Working Paper 2024/05