Research
Work in Progress
Formalizing care: the impact of Social Security reforms on the livelihoods of domestic workers. Joint with Alejandro Iribas.
We study the potential for a Social Security reform to bring the workers in the domestic services sector in Spain out of informality. In particular, we are interested in the short- and long-run effects of formalization on workers' employment and earnings, as well as potential spillovers to neighboring sectors due to increased labor costs. We use administrative and survey data to study the universe of formal and informal domestic workers. Our preliminary results suggest that the 2012 reform not only discouraged the transition into informal hiring, but reduced formal employment of domestic workers, with the aggregate effect of a shrinkage in the relative size of the sector.
We study the potential for a Social Security reform to bring the workers in the domestic services sector in Spain out of informality. In particular, we are interested in the short- and long-run effects of formalization on workers' employment and earnings, as well as potential spillovers to neighboring sectors due to increased labor costs. We use administrative and survey data to study the universe of formal and informal domestic workers. Our preliminary results suggest that the 2012 reform not only discouraged the transition into informal hiring, but reduced formal employment of domestic workers, with the aggregate effect of a shrinkage in the relative size of the sector.
Pension accrual for unpaid care work and female labor supply. Joint with Eppie van Egeraat
We use a policy that increased pension wealth for low-earnings mothers up to 6 years after giving birth in Norway to study the response of maternal labor supply in response to higher future income. We identify a trade-off between acknowledging unpaid care work in pension systems and disincentivizing labor supply of working-age mothers, which may in fact broaden the gender gap in pensions depending on the behavioral response to the reform.
Pension accrual for unpaid care work and households' behavior during retirement. Solo project.
I use the retroactive expansion of pension accrual for unpaid care work to all mothers who gave birth between 1967 and 1991 to study the effect of a wealth shock that affects only one member of the household upon retirement. I estimate the pension benefits for all mothers who gave birth from 1967 onward with and without the policy to quantify the wealth shock, and its impact on women's retirement age.
The role of firms in Early Retirement Decisions. Joint with Andreas Haller and Julian Vedeler Johnsen.
We use a policy that increased pension wealth for low-earnings mothers up to 6 years after giving birth in Norway to study the response of maternal labor supply in response to higher future income. We identify a trade-off between acknowledging unpaid care work in pension systems and disincentivizing labor supply of working-age mothers, which may in fact broaden the gender gap in pensions depending on the behavioral response to the reform.
Pension accrual for unpaid care work and households' behavior during retirement. Solo project.
I use the retroactive expansion of pension accrual for unpaid care work to all mothers who gave birth between 1967 and 1991 to study the effect of a wealth shock that affects only one member of the household upon retirement. I estimate the pension benefits for all mothers who gave birth from 1967 onward with and without the policy to quantify the wealth shock, and its impact on women's retirement age.
The role of firms in Early Retirement Decisions. Joint with Andreas Haller and Julian Vedeler Johnsen.
Before the start of my PhD, I also contributed to the following OECD publications:
- OECD (2022), Global Outlook on Financing for Sustainable Development 2023: No Sustainability Without Equity, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/fcbe6ce9-en. Lead author for chapters 1 and 2, together with Abdoulaye Fabregas (chapters 1 and 2) and Rachel Morris (chapter 3).
- OECD (2022), Multilateral Development Finance 2022, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9fea4cf2-en. Together with Abdoulaye Fabregas, Jieun Kim and Julian Kath.
