Tung Dang | Research

Working papers

“The Local Economic Impact of International Students: Evidence from US Commuting Zones” [PDF]

(Revised & Resubmitted to Labour Economics)

Abstract: This paper examines the impact of international students on local labor markets and establishments in the United States. Identification rests on a shift-share instrument strategy that exploits supply-driven changes in foreign enrollments in non-US destinations. I find that one additional student per thousand working-age residents increases the employment-to-population ratio by 0.19 percentage points and average hourly wages by 0.48 percent. Increases in foreign enrollment also lead to substantial labor reallocations toward potentially more productive establishments, particularly within non-tradable industries. Heterogeneity analyses suggest that these effects are primarily driven by demand-side factors related to student spending, while labor supply contributions from student employment play a more limited role. Overall, these findings point to sizable economic benefits linked to foreign student inflows through increased local income and business dynamism, and suggest that rising trade tensions and restrictive immigration policies may impose substantial costs by slowing or reversing recent enrollment trends.

“Daycare Accessibility and Maternal Labor Market Outcomes: Do Quality Ratings Matter?” (with Deborah Cobb-Clark and Hayley Fisher) IZA Discussion Paper No. 18300 [PDF] (Under Revision)

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] (Under Review)

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

“Childcare Accessibility, Grandparents, and Fertility Decisions”

“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”