This document offers a long-run overview of the labor market in Colombia analyzing the effects of payroll taxes and minimum wage on the unemployment rate, unemployment duration and labor informality. The estimations indicate that the increase of payroll tax generates a rise in informality,...

We analyze the effect of Colombia's ambitious "Free Housing" program on children's educational outcomes. The program was generous, giving free housing to beneficiaries in desirable areas. We evaluate the program by leveraging housing lotteries and linking applicants to their children. We find...

Real wages have been a good indicator of the standard of living of the working class. This document presents real wage series for different types of workers for three periods in modern Colombia. The data presented leads to the conclusion that in the last 170 years, real wages have increased less...