My current research focuses on different topics in development and labour economics. I study how individuals make decisions about work, education, migration, and fertility in dynamic contexts. I also collect novel data on how individuals search for work and what expectations they have about the labour market. I often develop structural models, which allow me to shed light on the complex effects of public policies and how they alter individuals' decisions.
Working papers
Migration, Education and Work Opportunities (reject & resubmit) This version: September 2017
IZA Discussion Paper No. 11028 (September 2017)
A previous version has won the SSES Young Economist Award 2015
This paper studies individual migration, education and work decisions in a dynamic life-cycle model in a developing context. I estimate the model exploiting location and employment spell data on migrants and stayers in Burkina Faso, and cross-sectional data on permanent emigrants. Individuals self-select into migration and locations according to their education: those without education go abroad and while those with secondary and tertiary education migrate to urban centers. Local differences in unemployment rates, skilled work opportunities and returns to education are at the core of this pattern.
The Puzzle of Educated Unemployment in West Africa (reject & resubmit) (with Romuald Meango) This version: January 2025
IZA Discussion Paper No. 15721 (November 2022)
Many West African countries exhibit a puzzling pattern given their scarce human capital: unemployment rates increase or are hump-shaped in education. We develop and estimate a model where educated unemployment arises from heterogeneous workers participating in a frictional labour market with three sectors (public, private and self-employment). Large labour market frictions in the formal sector and relatively few well-paying self-employment opportunities explain educated unemployment in West Africa. We then simulate three equally costly policies. In contrast with public job creation and subsidies to self-employment income, subsidies for private sector vacancy creation reduce labour market frictions and effectively lower overall and educated unemployment, and improve workers’ welfare. Alternative policies that boost private-sector productivity or promote universal education also lead to a sizeable expansion of the private sector and have large positive effects on workers’ welfare.
Just ask them twice: Choice probabilities and Identification of ex-ante returns and willingness-to-pay (submitted) (with Romuald Meango) This version: November 2024
IZA Discussion Paper No. 17174 (July 2024)
Ex ante returns, the net value that agents perceive before they take an investment decision, are understood as the main drivers of individual decisions. This paper studies the identification of the population distribution of ex ante returns using stated choice experiments, in the context of binary investment decisions. The paper provides novel, nonparametric identification results for the population distribution of returns and complements these with a new nonparametric/semiparametric estimation methodology. We apply these results to study the preference of high ability students in Côte d'Ivoire for public-sector jobs and how the competition for talent affects the expansion of the private sector.
IZA Discussion Paper No. 11028 (September 2017)
A previous version has won the SSES Young Economist Award 2015
This paper studies individual migration, education and work decisions in a dynamic life-cycle model in a developing context. I estimate the model exploiting location and employment spell data on migrants and stayers in Burkina Faso, and cross-sectional data on permanent emigrants. Individuals self-select into migration and locations according to their education: those without education go abroad and while those with secondary and tertiary education migrate to urban centers. Local differences in unemployment rates, skilled work opportunities and returns to education are at the core of this pattern.
The Puzzle of Educated Unemployment in West Africa (reject & resubmit) (with Romuald Meango) This version: January 2025
IZA Discussion Paper No. 15721 (November 2022)
Many West African countries exhibit a puzzling pattern given their scarce human capital: unemployment rates increase or are hump-shaped in education. We develop and estimate a model where educated unemployment arises from heterogeneous workers participating in a frictional labour market with three sectors (public, private and self-employment). Large labour market frictions in the formal sector and relatively few well-paying self-employment opportunities explain educated unemployment in West Africa. We then simulate three equally costly policies. In contrast with public job creation and subsidies to self-employment income, subsidies for private sector vacancy creation reduce labour market frictions and effectively lower overall and educated unemployment, and improve workers’ welfare. Alternative policies that boost private-sector productivity or promote universal education also lead to a sizeable expansion of the private sector and have large positive effects on workers’ welfare.
Just ask them twice: Choice probabilities and Identification of ex-ante returns and willingness-to-pay (submitted) (with Romuald Meango) This version: November 2024
IZA Discussion Paper No. 17174 (July 2024)
Ex ante returns, the net value that agents perceive before they take an investment decision, are understood as the main drivers of individual decisions. This paper studies the identification of the population distribution of ex ante returns using stated choice experiments, in the context of binary investment decisions. The paper provides novel, nonparametric identification results for the population distribution of returns and complements these with a new nonparametric/semiparametric estimation methodology. We apply these results to study the preference of high ability students in Côte d'Ivoire for public-sector jobs and how the competition for talent affects the expansion of the private sector.
Work in Progress
Labour Market and Human capital Effects of Commodity Price Booms (with Valentina Duque and Juan Zurita) (status: presentation mode)
This project studies how commodity price booms affect employment and human capital outcomes in developing countries.
Labour Market Expectations and Job Search of Young Graduates in Cote d'Ivoire (with Romuald Meango and Richard Moussa) (status: pilot completed)
This project collects novel data on job search behaviour and labour market expectations of young job seekers in Cote d'Ivoire.
This project studies how commodity price booms affect employment and human capital outcomes in developing countries.
Labour Market Expectations and Job Search of Young Graduates in Cote d'Ivoire (with Romuald Meango and Richard Moussa) (status: pilot completed)
This project collects novel data on job search behaviour and labour market expectations of young job seekers in Cote d'Ivoire.
Publications
Peer-reviewed journal articles
Mothers at Work: How Mandating Paid Maternity Leave Affects Work and Fertility
joint with Lena Hassani-Nezhad, Kalaivani Karunanethy and Rafael Lalive
Labour Economics, 2023, 84, 102364.
Version accepted for publication: March 2023
IZA Discussion Paper No. 14605 (July 2021)
Coverage: The Economist, The Regulatory Review, The Medical News, The Conversation
Interpersonal, cognitive and manual skills: How do they shape employment and wages?
joint with Miriam Koomen and Matthias Krapf
Labour Economics, 2022, 78, 102235.
Version accepted for publication (July 2022). Online Appendix (July 2022) .
Previously circulated as "Wages and employment: The role of occupational skills" in IZA Discussion Paper No. 11586 (June 2018)
Regional Migration and Wage Inequality in the West African Economic and Monetary Union
joint with Romuald Meango and Hillel Rapoport
Journal of Comparative Economics, 2020, 48(2), 385-404.
Version accepted for publication (October 2019)
IZA Discussion Paper No. 12048 (December 2018)
On the economic impact of international sport events: microevidence from survey data at the EURO 2008
joint with Michael Lamla and Martin Straub
Applied Economics, 2014, 46(15), 1693-1703.
Policy-related articles (not peer-reviewed)
Boosting paid maternity leave would help the economy, not just parents, The Conversation, August 2023.
Läuft die US-Konjunktur der Wirtschaftsentwicklung in Europa voraus?, KOF Analysen, December 2008. (in German)
Mothers at Work: How Mandating Paid Maternity Leave Affects Work and Fertility
joint with Lena Hassani-Nezhad, Kalaivani Karunanethy and Rafael Lalive
Labour Economics, 2023, 84, 102364.
Version accepted for publication: March 2023
IZA Discussion Paper No. 14605 (July 2021)
Coverage: The Economist, The Regulatory Review, The Medical News, The Conversation
Interpersonal, cognitive and manual skills: How do they shape employment and wages?
joint with Miriam Koomen and Matthias Krapf
Labour Economics, 2022, 78, 102235.
Version accepted for publication (July 2022). Online Appendix (July 2022) .
Previously circulated as "Wages and employment: The role of occupational skills" in IZA Discussion Paper No. 11586 (June 2018)
Regional Migration and Wage Inequality in the West African Economic and Monetary Union
joint with Romuald Meango and Hillel Rapoport
Journal of Comparative Economics, 2020, 48(2), 385-404.
Version accepted for publication (October 2019)
IZA Discussion Paper No. 12048 (December 2018)
On the economic impact of international sport events: microevidence from survey data at the EURO 2008
joint with Michael Lamla and Martin Straub
Applied Economics, 2014, 46(15), 1693-1703.
Policy-related articles (not peer-reviewed)
Boosting paid maternity leave would help the economy, not just parents, The Conversation, August 2023.
Läuft die US-Konjunktur der Wirtschaftsentwicklung in Europa voraus?, KOF Analysen, December 2008. (in German)