Working papers:
Abstract:
I develop a discrete choice structural model of individual schooling decisions following compulsory education, to analyse the effect of expected life-time earnings. The model is estimated using Spanish data on educational histories. I study the two paths available to a Spanish young person considering post-compulsory education: academic high school and vocational high school. In my model the options open to an individual following completion of one of these two high school tracks are linked to their expected life-cycle earnings. I use the estimated model to assess how school attendance and dropout rates respond to changes in expected earnings. I find that the largest impact in decreasing the dropout rate in post-compulsory high school is associated with raising the annual wage corresponding to a vocational diploma. I also find that the Spanish wage structure in 2006 discourages post-compulsory education attendance. It also affects the qualification of high school graduates by reducing the share of workers with a vocational qualification.
Abstract:
I present a microeconometric model to analyse residential water demand using panel data. Pricing has an increasing-block structure. The database contains individual consumption levels obtained from water meters but lacks further information. Permanent income is treated as an unobservable individual effect determining optimal consumption. I also consider a time-varying shock to connect latent and observed demands. The economic setup gives rise to a random effects model with a nonlinear individual effect. I use likelihood-based indirect inference for estimation. I compute price-elasticities and predict the effects of a tariff change. The methodology can be applied to analyse demands for other goods with increasing tariffs.
Work in progress:
- Class Influence on Drug Consumption Among Teenagers (joint with Laura Crespo)
