Tung Dang | Research

Under Review

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

(Revise & Resubmit at 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 local economic benefits linked to foreign student inflows through increased local income and business dynamism, and highlight the potential costs of rising trade tensions and restrictive immigration policies, which may slow or reverse recent enrollment trends.

“Household Resources and Investments in Children’s Higher Education: The Role of Intra-Household Bargaining” [PDF]

Abstract: This paper studies the impact of improved women’s intra-household bargaining power on children’s university enrollment. Using rich survey data from Indonesia and an instrumental variable approach, I construct a measure of shocks to women’s outside options that is orthogonal to household resources and children’s ability but strongly predictive of self-reported decision-making power among married women. I find that increases in mothers’ bargaining power at the time of children’s high school graduation significantly raise their likelihood of attending university. The effects are observed for both sons and daughters and are particularly pronounced among households less likely to face short-term liquidity constraints. I provide evidence that rules out alternative explanations, including endogenous changes in maternal labor supply, household formation, and local labor market conditions faced by children. Overall, the findings underscore the importance of intra-household bargaining dynamics and spousal differences in preferences for children’s education in shaping how household resources are translated into investments in higher education.

Working papers

“Daycare Accessibility and Maternal Labor Market Outcomes: Do Quality Ratings Matter?” (with Deborah Cobb-Clark and Hayley Fisher) [PDF]

Abstract: Using administrative data on the universe of Australian daycare centers, we examine the impact of daycare availability and quality ratings on childcare utilization and mothers’ labor market outcomes. Our generalized triple-difference estimation approach exploits spatial and temporal variation in daycare availability and quality ratings, leveraging the outcomes of school-aged children and their mothers for counterfactual comparisons. We document a substantial positive impact of daycare availability and higher quality ratings on the use of formal care 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. Overall, our findings underscore the important roles of childcare quality, in addition to accessibility, in shaping families’ childcare choices and mothers’ employment decisions.

“Parental Risk Preferences, Intra-household Decision Making, and Investments in Children’s Higher Education: Evidence from Indonesia”

Abstract: This paper examines parents’ investments in children’s education in the presence of uncertainty in returns and intra-household heterogeneity in parental risk preferences. Consistent with a Chiappori-type collective model of household decision making, I find that both fathers’ and mothers’ risk aversion significantly decrease children’s tendency to enroll in higher education, although the effects depend critically on the distribution of intra-household bargaining power. Additional results show that parental risk aversion also affects children’s labor market entry upon high school graduation. These findings highlight the roles of parental risk preferences and intra-household bargaining dynamics as important mechanisms that contribute to intergenerational persistence in economic outcomes.

Work-in-Progress

“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)

“Daycare Quality and Child Development: How Much Can We Trust Quality Ratings?”