RESEARCH INTERESTS Labor Economics, Economics of Gender, Public Policy, Applied Microeconomics
PEER REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS
IS THERE A GLASS CLIFF IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT MANAGEMENT? EXAMINING THE HIRING AND DEPARTURE OF WOMEN, (WITH LANG KATE YANG AND JENNIFER CONNOLLY), PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REVIEW (2022): https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13471 Women are underrepresented in public sector leadership positions, including municipal management. We examine one explanation that may contribute to gender inequity in the profession—a “glass cliff” phenomenon whereby councils are more likely to hire women as managers during difficult times, increasing the likelihood for women to fail in the position. Using original observational data on municipal managers in Florida, we test whether municipalities are more likely to hire women during times of fiscal stress and whether women are more likely than men to leave the position if municipal finances do not improve. Our results show that increasing budget deficits are associated with municipalities hiring women as managers. Post-appointment, a lack of improvement in the deficit condition is associated with a higher probability of women, but not men, leaving the position. A glass cliff in municipal management could be one factor that hinders women from advancing within the field.
THE EFFECT OF A TRADE SHOCK ON GENDER-SPECIFIC LABOR MARKET OUTCOMES IN BRAZIL,LABOUR ECONOMICS (2022): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2021.102085 As countries around the world increasingly engage in international trade, labor market dynamics respond, creating both winners and losers. In this paper, I analyze the impact of a trade shock on gender-specific local labor market outcomes in Brazil. I use an instrumental variable approach and population census data for Brazil to estimate the effect of both increased imports from China and increased exports to China on male and female local labor market outcomes from 2000 to 2010. Regions more exposed to imports from China experience slower wage growth in the traded and formal sectors, but the declines are significantly larger for men, particularly in sectors with low shares of female employment. Exports have a positive association with wages, but no relationship with employment. Import exposure is also associated with significant employment gains for males and females in the formal sector, but the gains for women are nearly double those for men. Employment gains are concentrated in high-skilled employment, supporting the mechanism of trade-induced skill biased technical change. As firms upgrade their technology and productivity, they favor skilled labor and increasingly view men and women as substitutes. As employment reallocates in response to trade, occupation segregation declines, highlighting an additional avenue through which trade can have gendered labor market effects. WHO CREATES STABLE JOBS? EVIDENCE FROM BRAZIL (WITH PETER BRUMMUND), OXFORD BULLETIN OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS (2019) : https://doi.org/10.1111/obes.12273 Recent research shows that start‐ups are important for job creation, but these firms are also inherently volatile. We use linked employer–employee data to examine the relative importance of firm age and firm size for job creation and destruction in Brazil. Firm age is a more important determinant of job creation in Brazil than firm size; young firms and start‐ups create a relatively high number of jobs. However, young firms are also more likely to exit the market and have higher levels of employment volatility. We, therefore, condition the job creation analysis on job stability. Young firms and large firms create relatively more stable jobs in Brazil.
EVALUATING THE IMPACT OF THE LABOR MARKET CONDITIONS INDEX ON LABOR MARKET FORECASTS (WITH ALICE SHEEHAN), STUDIES IN NONLINEAR DYNAMICS AND ECONOMETRICS (2018) This paper examines the usefulness of the Labor Market Conditions Index (LMCI) in forecasting key labor market variables, particularly unemployment rates. Using a number of linear and non-linear models, we compare out-of-sample forecasts of the unemployment rate with the LMCI to those without the LMCI. Further, we estimate models of the disaggregated unemployment rates by gender, race, and race by gender, with and without the LMCI, to identify disparities in the predictive power of the LMCI for different subgroups. We find little evidence that the LMCI improves forecasting models of the different unemployment rates, particularly for longer horizons.
TECHNICAL REPORTS
EAGLE MINE ECONOMIC IMPACT REPORT (WITH EMANUEL OLIVEIRA, JENNY APRIESNIG, MARI BUCHE, GARY CAMPBELL, ROGER MCELRATH, AND MARIANNA RIQUELME). Prepared for Business for Social Responsibility and Lundin Mining (2022). ECONOMIC IMPACT OF CHANGES IN PASSENGER AIR SERVICE AT HOUGHTON COUNTY MEMORIAL AIRPORT (WITH JENNY APRIESNIG AND EMANUEL OLIVEIRA). Prepared for MTU's University Relations and Enrollment Office (2022). REGIONAL ECONOMIC IMPACT OF MICHIGAN TECH'S EXTERNALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH EXPENDITURES, FISCAL YEARS 2007-2021 (WITH JENNY APRIESNIG AND EMANUEL OLIVEIRA). Prepared for MTU's Vice President for Research Office (2022).
PAPERS UNDER REVIEW
EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK? UNDERSTANDING THE GENDER WAGE GAP AMONG CITY MANAGERS (WITH JENNIFER CONNOLLY), UNDER REVIEW REVISITING MEDICAID EXPANSION AND MOBILITY: NEW EVIDENCE FROM THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT (WITH MATT HAMPTON AND OTTO LENHART), UNDER REVIEW LABOR MOBILITY AND THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT: HETEROGENEOUS IMPACTS OF THE PREEXISTING CONDITIONS PROVISION (WITH MATT HAMPTON AND OTTO LENHART), REVISIONS REQUESTED
WORKING PAPERS & WORKS IN PROGRESS
LABOR MARKET DYNAMICS AND TRADE WITH CHINA: THE CASE OF BRAZIL (WITH PETER BRUMMUND) WHAT'S IN A JOB AD? AN EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN TO EXPLORE GENDER DIFFERENCES IN PREFERRED JOB ATTRIBUTES (WITH CALI CURLEY AND JENNIFER CONNOLLY) THINK CRISIS, THINK FEMALE? EVIDENCE OF THE GLASS CLIFF PHENOMENON IN THE STATE OF MICHIGAN DOES CEO GENDER MATTER? IMPLICATIONS FOR ESTABLISHMENT PERFORMANCE