This paper presents semiparametric estimators of distributional impacts of interventions (treatment) when selection to the program is based on observable characteristics. Distributional impacts of a treatment are calculated as differences in inequality measures of the potential outcomes of...

Recent literature has debated possible adverse impacts of aid volatility on a country's economic performance. Our paper adds to this literature in three ways: First it tests the validity of the aid volatility and growth relationship from various aspects: across time horizons, by sources of aid,...

This paper investigates the causes of municipalities secession in Brazil. We develop a model where the median voter decides on the creation of new municipalities observing the trade-off between loss of scale on public production and increase in federal transfers to his/her municipality. Voters...

This study examines the impacts of the 1991 reform of Brazil's rural pension system on schooling and health indicators. We conclude that the reform had significant positive effects on schooling, especially on literacy for girls co-residing with a male pensioner. We were unable to find similar...

In this paper, we develop a model that captures stylized facts of informal labor markets. We show how justice interference on informal contracts leads to penalties in the equilibrium wage of informal workers. We also state that, in a repeated game situation, an equilibrium where the wage gaps...

This paper attempts to evaluate municipality secession in terms of the median voter response on the executive local elections. Our results imply that incumbents in the new municipalities have a higher chance of reelection which suggests that the median voter approved the secession process....

This paper presents new evidence of the causal effect of family size on child quality in a developing-country context. We estimate the impact of family size on child labor and educational outcomes among Brazilian children and young adults by exploring the exogenous variation of family size...

This article measures the degree of segmentation in the Brazilian labor market. Controlling for observable and unobservable characteristics, workers earn more in the formal sector, which supports the segmentation hypothesis. We break down the degree of segmentation by socioeconomic attributes to...