Using data from a Canadian field experiment on the financial barriers to higher education, we estimate the distribution of the value of financial aid for prospective students, and relate it to parental socio-economic background, individual skills, risk and time preferences. Our results point out...

We consider the identification of and inference on a partially linear model, when the outcome of interest and some of the covariates are observed in two different datasets that cannot be linked. This type of data combination problem arises very frequently in empirical microeconomics. Using...

This paper applies some of the key insights of dynamic discrete choice models to continuous-time job search models. We propose a novel framework that incorporates preference shocks into search models, resulting in a tight connection between value functions and conditional choice probabilities....

Population aging is expected to exert extreme pressure on public budgets. This study investigates the effect of demographic aging on U.S. municipal budgets between 1970 and 2017 using data on municipal finances and mayors' characteristics. Aging increases appetite for consumption-oriented...

Do voters care about how a policy is funded? The Ricardian equivalence argues that people are indifferent about whether a policy is funded by debt or taxation because they internalize the future costs of debt repayment in their bequests. Using a novel dataset of 22,000 local referendums and two...

We provide semiparametric identification results for a broad class of learning models in which continuous outcomes depend on three types of unobservables: i) known heterogeneity, ii) initially unknown heterogeneity that may be revealed over time, and iii) transitory uncertainty. We consider a...

We examine how informational frictions impact schooling and work outcomes. To do so, we estimate a dynamic structural model where individuals face uncertainty about their academic ability and productivity, which respectively determine their schooling utility and wages. Our framework accounts for...