Publications
Dang, T. (2026) “The Local Economic Impact of International Students: Evidence from US Commuting Zones”, Labour Economics, 102, 102921 [PDF]
Working papers
“Daycare Accessibility and Maternal Labor Market Outcomes: Do Quality Ratings Matter?” (with Deborah Cobb-Clark and Hayley Fisher) IZA Discussion Paper No. 18300 [PDF]
Abstract: Using administrative data on Australian daycare centers and a triple-difference design, we examine the impact of daycare availability and quality ratings on childcare utilization and mothers’ labor market outcomes. We document a substantial positive impact of daycare availability and higher quality ratings on formal care usage and mothers’ employment and earnings. The effect of quality ratings is particularly pronounced among high-income, more-educated, and first-time mothers, whose perceptions of local daycare quality are most responsive to changes in ratings. Our findings underscore the important roles of childcare quality, in addition to accessibility, in shaping families’ childcare choices and mothers’ employment decisions.
“Household Resources and Investments in Children’s Higher Education: The Role of Intra-Household Bargaining” [PDF]
Abstract: This paper examines whether improvements in women’s bargaining power within the household affect children’s participation in higher education. Using rich survey data from Indonesia and Bartik-style wage measures, I show that increases in mothers’ relative potential earnings raise women’s decision-making authority, particularly over education-related choices. Consistent with a non-unitary model, improvements in mothers’ outside options measured near senior secondary school completion raise university enrollment for both sons and daughters, with the largest effects among households in which mothers initially have low bargaining power. I provide evidence suggesting that these effects cannot be explained by differential local trends or endogenous household responses. The findings highlight the importance of intra-household bargaining dynamics and spousal differences in preferences in determining the extent to which household resources are translated into investments in higher education.
Work-in-Progress
“The Development Impacts of IFC Blended-Finance Investments”
“Childcare Accessibility and Fertility Decisions” with Deborah Cobb-Clark and Hayley Fisher
“Daycare Quality and Child Development: How Much Can We Trust Quality Ratings?”
“From Risk to Resilience: A Multi-Level Field Experiment to Prevent Adolescent Gambling and Drug Use in Bangladesh” (with Deborah Cobb-Clark, Shyamal Chowdhury, and Sally Gainsbury)
“Parental Risk Preferences, Intra-household Decision Making, and Investments in Children’s Higher Education: Evidence from Indonesia”