Three Essays in Development Economics

Abstract

This dissertation presents three essays examining critical issues in development economics, with a focus on labor market outcomes, gender equity, and social policy in Brazil. The first two chapters investigate different aspects of the "child penalty" - the decline in women's labor force participation following childbirth. Chapter 1 analyzes the impact of free public childcare expansion in São Paulo on maternal labor market outcomes. Using administrative data and a difference-in-differences approach, it finds that increased childcare availability significantly reduces the child penalty, raising mothers' employment by 6.4 percentage points. Chapter 2 explores how having a child with a severe disability, specifically microcephaly caused by the Zika virus outbreak, affects parental labor supply and family composition. Leveraging the quasi-random nature of the outbreak, it shows that mothers of affected children experience a 60% larger decline in formal employment compared to other mothers. The third chapter evaluates the long-term impacts of Brazil's Bolsa Família conditional cash transfer program on human capital accumulation and labor market outcomes. Exploiting a change in eligibility criteria, it finds that program participation during childhood leads to 1.1 additional years of schooling and 19% higher earnings in early adulthood. Together, these essays provide novel evidence on how social policies, family dynamics, and early-life interventions shape labor market participation and economic outcomes in a developing country context. The findings offer valuable insights for policymakers seeking to promote gender equity, support families with special needs, and enhance long-term economic prospects for disadvantaged populations.