pathway: Economics Alumni

My research focuses on using various methods, like Lasso and hard thresholding, to select variables from a large set in an econometrics/causal analysis framework (e.g. instrumental variables analysis with genes, Mendelian randomisation).

My research is compiled in three filed and experimental essays: the first essay, explores the effects of windfall money on tax compliance and labour supply responses, exploring how and why people pay taxes, and how individual labour supply responds to non-labour income. The second paper tries to tease apart the dynamic effects of penalties/fines on firm tax compliance. The third paper focuses on punishment vs pro-social behaviour vis-à-vis the choice of public service delivery methods. The choices include a standard delivery system, fast track system with a higher premium and bribery option that’s risky and has a negative externality.

At the moment, I am analysing a large set of social security data to find out to what extent women are more likely than men to accept lower wages to avoid long commutes. Women’s shorter commutes could thus contribute to enduring discrepancies in men’s and women’s wages and other labour market outcomes. A particular focus is on differences between women in urban and rural areas, the effect of childbirth, and the role of childcare availability. I use duration (aka survival) analysis and a structural model of a search labour market to infer behavioural parameters from observed choices.