Essays in Labor and Development Economics

Abstract

This dissertation consists of three chapters in labor and development economics. The first chapter analyzes the impacts of substantial increases in the Moroccan national minimum wage on gender gaps in employment and wages. Using matched employer-employee data along with detailed labor force surveys, I show that the minimum wage increases resulted in a significant narrowing of the gender pay gap in the formal manufacturing sector. However, these increases also led to displacement effects: a significant share of low-wage female workers transitioned from formal to informal employment, while male workers' employment remained unaffected. Bounding exercises suggest that, despite this displacement effect, the minimum wage remains an effective tool for reducing gender pay inequality. The second chapter, co-authored with Francois-Xavier Ladant, examines the impact of a 2010 French policy that implemented a 40% gender quota on corporate boards. We show that the quota led to increased female representation in top executive roles, including at the CEO and C-suite levels, and a notable reduction in gender pay gaps at all levels of the firm hierarchy. This was achieved by women gaining access to powerful boardroom positions and through strategic changes in corporate governance, such as linking CEO remuneration to gender equity goals. The third chapter, joint with Christine Binzel, Erica Field, and Rohini Pande, explores the effects of reduced financial interdependence among village community members following the introduction of formal financial services. We combine the randomized rollout of bank branches and an extensive social network mapping across 205 villages of rural India. We show that increased access to formal banking reduces reliance on informal borrowing, leading to sparser social networks and diminished community cooperation in public good provision.