Applied Microeconomics
Applied Microeconomics
The Applied Microeconomics research group unites researchers working on a broad array of topics within such areas as labour economics, economics of education, health economics, family economics, urban economics, environmental economics, and the economics of science and innovation. The group operates in close collaboration with the CAGE Research Centre.
The group participates in the CAGE seminar on Applied Economics, which runs weekly on Tuesdays at 2:15pm. Students and faculty members of the group present their ongoing work in two brown bag seminars, held weekly on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 1pm. Students, in collaboration with faculty members, also organise a bi-weekly reading group in applied econometrics on Thursdays at 1pm. The group organises numerous events throughout the year, including the Research Away Day and several thematic workshops.
Our activities
Work in Progress seminars
Tuesdays and Wednesdays 1-2pm
Students and faculty members of the group present their work in progress in two brown bag seminars. See below for a detailed scheduled of speakers.
Applied Econometrics reading group
Thursdays (bi-weekly) 1-2pm
Organised by students in collaboration with faculty members. See the Events calendar below for further details
People
Academics
Academics associated with the Applied Microeconomics Group are:
Research Students
Events
Political Economy Seminar - Julien Labonne (Oxford)
鈥淰illage Social Network Structures, Electoral Competition and Public Goods Provision鈥�
Abstract:
A broad literature in political science and economic studies how social structure shapes political competition and the incentives of politicians to provide public goods. Examples include studies on the role of ethnic and religious fragmentation. However, in some societies, political cleavages and competition involve actors such as clans and extended families that are often hard to identify and study systematically.
In this paper, we use a 20 million person dataset, allowing us to reconstruct intermarriage networks for over 15,000 villages in 709 municipalities in the Philippines. We use a community detection algorithm to identify the set of major extended families in every village. Using census data, we then show that public goods provision is higher in relatively more fragmented villages; that is, in villages featuring several rather than a handful of competing families. We then argue that this correlation is partly explained by higher electoral/political competition and a more even distribution of political influence in fragmented villages. In more fragmented villages, win margins are lower, a larger number of individuals run for public office and voters mention a larger set of politically influential individuals in their community.