ECONOMETRICS & CRIMETRICS
In the last two decades, one of the areas that most witnessed methodological and application improvements has been microeconometric methods. Developing estimation and inference means dealing with problems, among others, of sample selection bias, unobserved heterogeneity, endogeneity of variables, censorship, and truncation, and friction in longitudinal databases. For example, models of unemployment duration, whether in a reduced or structural form, are a good example where there is a need to develop strategies of semi- or non-parametric estimation, especially for multiple risk models and multiple duration models. Crimetrics, i.e., the use of statistical and econometric techniques for the quantitative and qualitative study of the phenomenon of crime and violence is an up-and-coming area of research. Models of criminal recidivism, the impact of unemployment on crime, "fear of crime" (subjective expectations), the effect of prisons on the future of the victim, the quality of public spending and their effects on crime are just a few examples of very relevant topics that can be studied with the most advanced microeconometric techniques.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE & LABOR ECONOMICS
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE & LABOR ECONOMICS
Domestic and Family Violence Against Women, henceforth Domestic violence (DV), is one of the most persistent social scourges in societies. It is a significant public health issue, as well as a violation of human rights. More than one-third of women globally experience violence perpetrated by their partners or ex-partners, say, intimate partner violence (IPV). DV negatively affects women’s health in all its dimensions, jeopardizing their physical, and reproductive. Besides, it leads women to substance abuse and suicidal attempt, or even it can result in femicide. DV not only impact on women’s health, but also on their socioeconomic status by partners’ abusive behavior. Empirical evidence shows that abused women exhibit low labor market productivity, are more likely to leave their job and experience unemployment. Also, DV can be used as an instrument to undermine women’s autonomy and ensure an allocation of resources that is more aligned with male’s preferences. My objective is to study domestic violence, women's labor supply, human capital accumulation, the allocation of resources in the household, women and children's health, and child development, and the interrelationships among them through an interdisciplinary approach.
SURVEY METHODOLODY & DESIGN
Longitudinal surveys are complex sampling designs, which must be maintained and extended over time, open to measurement errors, including memory errors; panel conditioning or time-in-sample effects; and attrition. In the analysis of longitudinal survey data, both the theory of complex samples and the theory of longitudinal data analysis must be combined. Unfortunately, economists rarely consider these aspects of longitudinal survey for their analysis and inference, remaining “passive users” of such type of empirical evidence. This remains even though the benefits of longitudinal studies for violence, crime, social and economic research. For instance, a longitudinal survey on domestic violence can help researchers and policymakers: i) to trace the trajectory of the development of violent behavior against women; ii) to understand causal relationships and inter-generational effects of domestic violence; iii) to rule out competing risk factors that potentially lead a woman to be abused by her partner. I want to understand the effects complex designs have in inference, as well as the complications introduced by time-in-sample effects and by nonignorable attrition. Besides, I develop instruments to better measure and capture valid quantitative and qualitative information in household surveys.