Jose Lima Velazquez

Alternative Policy-Effect Estimations under Quasi-Experimental Designs: An Application in Mexico

This paper explores different strategies to evaluate public policy under a quasi-experimental framework and facing the absence of panel data, proposing the implementation of synthetic panels, defined by cohorts based on population characteristics, as an alternative to non-panel repeated cross-section –RCS- techniques. Synthetic panels are frequently used in poverty analysis, but not in public policy evaluation. The empirical application consists in examining the effects of the no-fault divorce introduction in Mexico on the women’s decision to participate in the labour market, as well as on their labour conditions in terms of informality and working hours per week. Three Difference-in-Difference estimations where calculated: two non-panel RCS, one using an interaction term and the other one estimating a Propensity Score Matching –PSM- Average Treatment effect on the Treated –ATT-, as well as an estimation based on the synthetic panel method mentioned before. The microdata was obtained from the Mexican National Occupation and Employment Survey –ENOE-, for the years 2005 and 2011. Results suggest that estimations based on the synthetic panel are consistent to non-panel RCS in all cases.

Co-Authors

Kausik Chaudhuri, Gaston Yalonetzky

Prizes/Awards

Abroad postgraduate studies scholarship programme, MSc

National Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT), Mexico

August, 2013

Abroad postgraduate studies scholarship programme, PhD

National Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT), Mexico

October, 2014

Conference Presentations

Financial Crises, the Great Recession and the Middle Class in the Americas, an Empirical Analysis

The 34th General Conference of the International Association for Research in Income and Wealth (IARIW), Dresden (Germany), 21-27 August 2016

Alternative Policy-Effect Estimations under Quasi-Experimental Designs: An Application in Mexico

2018 Asian Meeting of the Econometric Society, Seoul (South Korea), 21-23 June 2018

Thesis title

Microeconomic development: An investigation on labour markets and middle classes

Thesis Summary/Synopsis

This thesis explores the definition and measurement of the middle class in Latin America, and identifies its interactions with labour and credit markets in Mexico. The relevance of the middle class in a society is unquestionable, particularly in young democracies and developing countries, where the middle class acts as a moderator between the social extremes. The Latin American region is particularly relevant due to its high levels of inequality. In this work I propose a method of identification of the middle class based on a counting approach, in a similar way as poverty measurement methods, and based on theoretical axioms. This analysis is conducted for Mexico, a country with wide data available in household socio-economic characteristics. Results show consistency between the proposed estimation method and traditional measurements of middle class based on household income, as well as with indirect multidimensional measures. This thesis also explores the effect of changes in divorce law on women, from middle class backgrounds, participating in the labour market. Finally, the cost of financial exclusion on informal credits is explored for the middle class.

Teaching Assistance Experience

Econometrics - Postgraduate

Intermediate Microeconomics - Undergraduate

Economics for Management - Undergraduate

Publications

Financial Crises, the Great Recession and the Middle Class in the Americas, an Empirical Analysis

Jose Martin Lima Velázquez and Gaston Yalonetzky

Proceedings, The 34th General Conference of the International Association for Research in Income and Wealth (IARIW), Dresden (Germany), 21-27 August 2016

Alternative Policy-Effect Estimations under Quasi-Experimental Designs: An Application in Mexico

Kausik Chaudhuri, Martin Lima, Gaston Yalonetzky

Proceedings, 2018 Asian Meeting of the Econometric Society

Seoul (South Korea), 21-23 June 2018

References

Referee 1 Name: Gaston Yalonetzky

Email: G.Yalonetzky@leeds.ac.uk

Referee 2 Name: Kausik ChaudhuriChaudhuri

Email: kc@lubs.leeds.ac.uk