UC Riverside

This dissertation comprises three independent chapters in applied microeconometrics.

This dissertation comprises three independent chapters in applied microeconometrics.

In the first chapter, we investigate the effects of earlier and longer exposure to compulsory education on students’ academic performance. Previous studies were limited because they often used variation in only one variable, school entry age or duration. We overcome this limitation by using Brazil's 2006 school reform, which lowered the compulsory school entry age and increased its duration. Furthermore, we examine the heterogeneity in the effect of the reform based on students’ preschool educational status, thereby providing different policy implications for countries where preschool education is either limited or widespread. We find that students who were exposed to primary education a year earlier without any prior education exhibited a larger increase in test scores in the short run (5 years), but the students who attended preschool showed a more persistent increase in test scores in the medium run (9 years). These findings provide new evidence that earlier and longer exposure to compulsory education can generate positive effects on student performance, both in countries with universal and insufficient availability of preschool education.

The second chapter of my dissertation examines the effect of compulsory preschool education on maternal labor market outcomes using Brazil's 2009 school reform. I use a regression discontinuity analysis based on the preschool eligibility rule, which required students to start their first year of preschool education if they had turned four before March 31st. I find significant effects of preschool enrollment on maternal outcomes if 4-year-old children were the youngest members of the households and there were no other relatives present. When children were eligible for preschool entry, mothers not only increased hours of working but also were more likely to take formal jobs that guarantee employee rights and benefits. This study is the first paper to examine the effects of preschool enrollment using a school reform in a developing country.

In the third chapter of my dissertation, I examine the effect of the Zika virus outbreak in Brazil on fertility and female labor market outcomes. The Zika virus outbreak provided strong motivation to delay pregnancy as the Zika virus infection can cause serious birth defects like microcephaly. However, due to the high frequency of unintended pregnancy in developing countries including Brazil, determining whether women indeed delayed pregnancy was not certain. Using the variation of suspected microcephaly cases across states, I find that more suspected microcephaly cases provided incentives for women to delay pregnancy. This trend was more pronounced among younger and more educated women. Despite the fertility decline, my findings provide little evidence that female labor market outcomes were altered by the outbreak of the Zika virus.