Working Paper


Job Loss and Retirement [pdf] (Job Market Paper) - R&R at the Journal of Labor Economics

Abstract: This paper provides the first evidence of the long-term effects of job loss on age at retirement, pension benefits and lifetime income. Exploiting plant closures and using German administrative data, I compare displaced workers with similar non-displaced workers. I show that displaced workers delay their retirement in response to the shock and ineligibility for early pension claims is the main driver of this response. Despite adjustments in retirement behavior, displaced workers face significant losses in pension benefits and lifetime income. Compared to similar non-displaced workers, displaced workers experience losses in the present discounted value of their lifetime income of 25%.


Moving to Opportunity, together (with Seema Jayachandran, Matthew Notowidigdo, Marie Paul, Heather Sarsons and Elin Sundberg) [pdf]

Abstract: Many couples face a trade-off between advancing one spouse’s career or the other’s. We study this trade-off using administrative data from Germany and Sweden. Using an event study approach, we find that when couples move across commuting zones, men’s earnings increase more than women’s. To distinguish between men’s greater potential earnings and a gender norm that prioritizes men’s careers, we examine how the patterns differ when the woman has higher potential earnings than her husband. We then estimate a model of household decision-making in which households can (and do) place more weight on income earned by the man.


Primum Non Nocere? Mortality Effects of a Physician Strike in Germany (with Daniel Avdic, Martin Karlsson and Nina Schwarz) [pdf]

Abstract: We study the consequences of a protracted and unanticipated physician strike in German university hospitals on patient mortality. To estimate the causal effect of the strike, we compare striking and non-striking hospitals in a difference-in-differences design using a comprehensive dataset of all hospital admissions in Germany linked to newly collected records of strike participation. Our results show that the strike led to a sharp decrease in hospital admissions and a significant increase in hospital mortality in striking hospitals. Applying a double selection LASSO algorithm to adjust for care rationing and patient selection, we show that around half of the mortality effect of the strike can be attributed to quality-of-care factors. Finally, we find spillover effects on admissions to nearby non-striking hospitals but no corresponding impact on hospital mortality. We conclude that prolonged industrial action in the healthcare sector may have severe consequences for patient safety unless appropriate risk mitigation protocols are established.



Work in Progress


The ``Price'' of Breaking the Glass Ceiling (with Sonia Bhalotra and Rita Ginja)


Mental Health and Crime (with Sonia Bhalotra, Meltem Daysal and Mircea Trandafir)