Essays in Applied Microeconometrics

This thesis comprises three chapters, which focus on topics that combine different strands of literature of applied empirical work in Economics such as Health and Labour Economics, Development and Economic History. The common theme is a particular focus on gender or vulnerable groups' issues.

Chapter 2 investigates the long-term effects of the Paraguayan War (1864{1870) on intimate partner violence. The identification relies on a novel historical dataset from which I exploit the distance from municipalities to military camps during the war. Over 130 years later, the likelihood of intimate partner violence is 5.54 percent higher than average in municipalities more heavily affected by the war. I show that a demographic shock can not be the only driver of the long-term effects of the war. Instead, the main transmission channel relates to atypical status inconsistencies within the household.

Chapter 3 investigates the impact of pollution on the economic costs of public healthcare in Leicester using proprietary data from the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust. The identification relies on the spatial and temporal variation of pollution, and temporal variation in wind speed and direction. Each extra standard deviation of exposure to PM10 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than 10 μm) costs the city of Leicester 5.7 million pounds to treat elderly and children.

Chapter 4 analyses how job requirements in terms of working hours affect fertility manipulation. We find that 40.83% of occupations have seasonal working hours and that the number of occupations presenting returns to long hours in the UK remains constant over time. Females in highly skilled and competitive occupations tailor their fertility decisions to avoid giving birth in more seasonal months. Moreover, females in highly skilled, competitive, and seasonal occupations delay fertility by 26.52 months (around two years) in the period 2001-2010.