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
Applied Economics, Econometrics & Public Policy (CAGE) Seminar - Daniele Paserman (BU)
Title: Female Labor Force Participation and Intergenerational Mobility (with Jorgen Modalsli, Claudia Olivetti and Laura Salisbury)
Abstract: Women's labor force participation increased dramatically over the post-WWII, especially among mothers of young children. How did the entry of mothers in to the labor force impact the transmission of economic status across generations? Using Norwegian registry data we document trends in mothers' labor force participation and intergenerational mobility across cohorts born between 1965 and 1995. The labor supply of mothers almost quadrupled across cohorts. At the same time, the father-child income elasticity declined substantially. At the individual level, the relationship between son's income and father's income is weaker in families in which the mother worked when the son was a young child.
Using a simple covariance decomposition, we show that 25-33\% of the decline in the intergenerational elasticity (IGE) can be explained by the fact the IGE is lower among families in which the mother works, and such families consitute a larger share of the population over time. Structural factors (e.g. changes in economic opportunity or the education system) can explain the rest of the decline. We then develop a statistical framework that illustrates mechanisms through which mothers' work affects the IGE. Mothers' entry into the paid workforce represents a shift from time-intensive to money-intensive investments in children's human capital. The effect on the IGE depends on sorting in the marriage market, the relative importance of time and money inputs in the production of children's human capital, and income and substitution effects on mother's labor supply. The observed trends can be reconciled with our model if women's productivity in childcare is more valued on the marriage market than their labor market productivity, and if money investments have a larger effect on children's human capital than time investments.