Research

WORKING PAPERS


Formalized Employee Search and Labor Demand 

(with Lukas Hensel and Tsegay Gebrekidan Tekleselassie) 

[older version as IZA DP]

Abstract

Firms in low- and middle-income countries rarely advertise their vacancies formally and instead use social networks to find employees. We experimentally reduce the cost of formal employee search for small and medium-sized enterprises in Ethiopia to test whether informal search constrains the number and type of positions firms create. We find that treated firms increase formal search and shift their labor demand towards more demanding white-collar positions. However, they struggle to fill these newly created vacancies, in particular, if they are not familiar with formal search channels. Additional applicant screening services do not affect treatment effects, suggesting that information asymmetries about applicants’ skills do not limit formal search.

The Effects of Mental Health Interventions on Labor Market Outcomes in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

(with Crick Lund, Kate Orkin, John Walker, Thandi Davies, Johannes Haushofer, Sarah Murray, Judy Bass, Laura Murray, Wietse Tol, Vikram Patel)

[CEPR discussion paper] [CSAE working paper] [IZA discussion paper] [NBER working paper]

Mental health conditions are prevalent but rarely treated in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Little is known about how these conditions affect economic participation. This paper shows that treating mental health conditions substantially improves recipients’ capacity to work in these contexts. First, we perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) ever conducted that evaluate treatments for mental ill-health and measure economic outcomes in LMICs. On average, treating common mental disorders like depression with psychotherapy improves an aggregate of labor market outcomes made up of employment, time spent working, capacity to work and job search by 0.16 standard deviations. Treating severe mental disorders, like schizophrenia, improves the aggregate by 0.30 standard deviations, but effects are noisily estimated. Second, we build a new dataset, pooling all available microdata from RCTs using the most common trial design: studies of psychotherapy in LMICs that treated depression and measured days participants were unable to work in the past month. We observe comparable treatment effects on mental health and work outcomes in this sub-sample of highly similar studies. We also show evidence consistent with mental health being the mechanism through which psychotherapy improves work outcomes.

Abstract

What motivates workers' referral decisions? Combining a field experiment in a firm and urban social network data, I first show that workers primarily refer those who previously referred them. This reciprocity leads to significant on-the-job productivity losses and excludes less connected individuals. Incentivized referrals reduce reciprocity and make workers screen more productive colleagues. Second, peripheral workers use referrals strategically to establish new and reciprocated links which persist after 18 months. These results are consistent with a network-based referral model where individuals trade off pecuniary and social incentives. The findings suggest that referrals through social networks can reinforce labor market inequalities.

PUBLICATIONS

Searching with Friends

(with Stefano Caria and Simon Franklin)

[Journal of Labor Economics,  41.4 (2023)] 

Abstract

We study how active labor market policies affect the exchange of information and support among jobseekers. Leveraging a unique social network survey in Ethiopia, we find that a randomized job-search assistance intervention reduces information sharing and support between treated jobseekers and their active job-search partners. Due to lower job-search support, untreated individuals search less and, suggestively, have worse employment outcomes. These results are consistent with a model of networks where unemployed individuals form job-search partnerships to exploit the complementarities of job search. 

Labor Reallocation Between Small Firms: Experimental Evidence on Information Constraints

(with Jamie McCasland, Morgan Hardy, Seongyoon Kim, and Andreas Menzel )

[Accepted, Journal of Development Economics] [ungated version]

Abstract

We document interest in labor reallocation among small firm owners in Ghana; 60% and 41%, respectively, self-report willingness to hire or work for the average local firm owner. Firm owners also exhibit high willingness-to-pay for in-formation on a random subset of hiring firms and jobseeking firm owners, during a Becker-Degroot-Marschak exercise. Conditionally random variation in access to this information generates immediate labor adjustments within and between firms, though rarely of firm owners themselves, and impacts firm closure 5-months post-intervention. Our findings suggest that labor market information of this kind is both valuable and actionable in our context.

The Impact of Firm Downsizing on Workers: Evidence from Ethiopia's Ready-Made Garment Industry

(with Morgan Hardy, Gisella Kagy, Christian Johannes Meyer, and Eyoual Tamrat)

[project description

[World Development, 176 (2024)]

Abstract

We analyze matched employee–employer data from Ethiopia’s largest special economic zone during a period of downsizing pressure from the COVID-19 world import demand shock. We observe substantial job displacement during the shock peak, particularly for new hires. These largely female and rural-to-urban migrants persistently “fall off the employment ladder”, remaining unemployed both within and outside the zone even after employers have recovered from the shock. We observe high levels of urban-centered food insecurity and depression symptoms during the crisis peak, regardless of employment status. Our findings highlight the importance of social protection policies within export-oriented development strategies.

Global Behaviors and Perceptions in the COVID-19 Pandemic

(with Thiemo Fetzer, Lukas Hensel, Jon Jachimowicz, Johannes Haushofer, Andriy Ivchenko, Stefano Caria, Elena Reutskaja, Christopher Roth, Stefano Fiorin, Margarita Gómez, Gordon Kraft-Todd, Friedrich Gotz, Erez Yoeli)

[Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 193 (2022): 473–496]

Abstract

We conducted a large-scale survey covering 58 countries (N = 108,075) at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic between March 20th and April 7th 2020—to explore how beliefs about citizens’ and government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the actions taken by governments, affected mental well-being. Our analyses reveal three findings. First, many respondents indicate that their country’s citizens and government’s response was insufficient. Second, respondents’ perception of an insufficient public and government response was associated with lower mental well-being. Third, we exploit time variation in country-level lockdown announcements, both around the world and through an event-study in the UK, and find that strong government actions—i.e., announcing a nationwide lockdown—were related to an improvement in respondents’ views of their fellow citizens and government, and to better mental well-being. These findings suggest that policy-makers may not only need to consider how their decisions affect the spread of COVID-19, but also how such choices influence the mental well-being of their population.

The Market-Reach of Pandemics: Evidence from Female Workers in Ethiopia’s Ready-Made Garment Industry

(with Morgan Hardy, Gisella Kagy, Christian Johannes Meyer, and Eyoual Tamrat)

[World Development, 137 (2021)] [ungated version]

Abstract

In a globalized world, pandemics transmit impacts through markets. We document employment changes, coping strategies, and welfare indicators of garment factory workers in Ethiopia’s largest industrial park during the early stages of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic. We field a phone survey on female workers employed at the start of the crisis during a two month period in which cases are rapidly rising globally, but not locally. Our data suggest significant changes in employment, high levels of migration away from urban areas to rural areas if women are no longer working, and high levels of food insecurity. These findings compel a research and policy focus on documenting and mitigating the market-reach of pandemics on low-income women at the margins.

Abstract

Bringing young people into productive work is a key labor market challenge in both developing and developed economies, and a multitude of labor market interventions have been implemented to assist vulnerable youths. To assess whether these interventions have succeeded in improving young people's labor market outcomes, this study systematically and quantitatively reviews 113 impact evaluations of youth employment programs worldwide. Of a total of 3105 effect estimates we extract from these studies, one-third are positive significant. The unconditional average effect size across all programs is small, both for employment-related outcomes (Hedges' g = 0.05, SE = 0.02) and earnings-related outcomes (Hedges' g = 0.04, SE = 0.02). We analyze correlates of success in a meta-regression framework. We find that (i) programs are more successful in middle- and low-income countries; (ii) the intervention type is less important than design and delivery; (iii) programs integrating multiple services are more successful; (iv) profiling of beneficiaries, individualized follow-up systems and incentives for services providers matter; and (v) impacts are of larger magnitude in the long-term. Some of these findings provide new and important insights about the design and delivery of interventions, whereas others confirm those of previous reviews. Ultimately, our findings provide practitioners with an improved evidence base about how certain design features contribute to successful youth employment programs in different contexts.

SELECTED WORK IN PROGRESS


Feedback, Overconfidence and Job Search Behavior

(with Lukas Hensel, Ingo Isphording, Jonas Radbruch, and Tsegay Tekleselassie)

Wage Information and Applicant Selection

(with Lukas Hensel and Tsegay Tekleselassie)

Reducing Frictions in Ethiopian Labor Markets

(with Morgan Hardy and Christian Meyer)

Network Position and Public Good Contributions

(with Simon Franklin and Simon Heß)

Impacts of Small-Scale Biogas Technology on Energy Access in Egypt

(with Olivier Deschenes, Ahmed Elsayed, Nico Pestel, Samer Atallah)

OUTSIDE OF ECONOMICS

Can mental health treatments help prevent or reduce intimate partner violence in low- and middle-income countries? A systematic review

[BMC Women's Health, 2019, 19:34]

(with W. A. Tol, S. M. Murray, C. Lund, P. Bolton, L. K. Murray, T. Davies, J. Haushofer, K. Orkin, L. Salama, V. Patel, G. Thornicroft and J. K. Bass)

Abstract

Background

Epidemiological research suggests an interrelationship between mental health problems and the (re)occurrence of intimate partner violence (IPV). However, little is known about the impact of mental health treatments on IPV victimization or perpetration, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC).

Methods

We conducted a systematic review to identify prospective, controlled studies of mental health treatments in LMIC. We defined ‘mental health treatment’ as an intervention for individuals experiencing mental ill health (including substance misuse) including a substantial psychosocial or pharmacological component. Studies had to measure a mental health and IPV outcome. We searched across multi-disciplinary databases using a structured search strategy. Screening of title/abstracts and full-text eligibility assessments were conducted by two researchers independently, data were extracted using a piloted spreadsheet, and a narrative synthesis was generated.

Results

We identified seven studies reported in 11 papers conducted in five middle-income countries. With the exception of blinding, studies overall showed acceptable levels of risk of bias. Four of the seven studies focused on dedicated mental health treatments in various populations, including: common mental disorders in earthquake survivors; depression in primary care; alcohol misuse in men; and alcohol misuse in female adult sex workers. The dedicated mental health treatments targeting depression or alcohol misuse consistently reduced levels of these outcomes. The two studies targeting depression also reduced short-term IPV, but no IPV benefits were identified in the two alcohol-focused studies. The other three studies evaluated integrated interventions, in which a focus on substance misuse was part of efforts to reduce HIV/AIDS and violence against particularly vulnerable women. In contrast to the dedicated mental health interventions, the integrated interventions did not consistently reduce mental ill health or alcohol misuse compared to control conditions.

Conclusions

Too few studies have been conducted to judge whether mental health treatments may provide a beneficial strategy to prevent or reduce IPV in LMIC. Key future research questions include: whether promising initial evidence on the effects of depression interventions on reducing IPV hold more broadly, the required intensity of mental health components in integrated interventions, and the identification of mechanisms of IPV that are amenable to mental health intervention.