2019
I estimate the effect of the minimum wage on formal wages, informal wages, and employment in Colombia. I exploit an unexpected increase in the real minimum wage during the 1999 Colombian economic crisis to estimate short- term effects of the minimum wage along the distribution of wages in both sectors. I find evidence of wage responses, with a stronger incidence in the formal sector.
2019
We analyze the efficacy of hiring tax credits, particularly in distressed labor markets. Our estimates show positive effects on employment and sizable reductions on the unemployment rate.
Listed in World Bank Policy Research Working Paper Series
Coverage: Vox Lacea
Multidimensional measures of poverty have become standard as complementary indicators of poverty in many countries. This paper proposes an application of existing methodologies that decompose welfare aggregates -based on counterfactual simulations- to break up the changes of the multidimensional poverty headcount into the variation attributed to each of its dimensions.
Recommended citation: Pérez Pérez, Jorge Eduardo; Rodriguez Castelan, Carlos; Trujillo, Jose Daniel; Valderrama, Daniel. 2015. Unpacking the MPI : a decomposition approach of changes in multidimensional poverty headcounts. Policy Research working paper; no. WPS 7514. Washington, D.C. : World Bank Group.
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2017
Winner of the 2018 S4 Graduate Student Paper Prize
Local minimum wage laws are becoming common across U.S. cities, and their effects may be different from effects of state or nation-wide minimum wage policies. I study the effect of changes in minimum wages on spatial equilibria in local labor markets. Using residence and workplace data for the U.S., I analyze how commuting, residence and work locations change across city and state borders when minimum wages change on either side of the border.
We study the effects of household shocks on consumption across different goods in rural Colombia, using a panel dataset of households. We contrast the estimated effects to those obtained using a structural model of demand.
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Published in IDB Policy Briefs, 2014
Fiscal policy in Latin America has been historically imprudent and continues to be viewed with skepticism. At the same time, most countries have remained out of trouble for several years and were able to successfully conduct proactive countercyclical fiscal policy to fight the Great Recession, a historical first. This paper examines the last decade to assess progress, highlight weaknesses, and chart the way forward.
Recommended citation: Fernández-Arias, Eduardo and Pérez Pérez, Jorge Eduardo (2014) "Grading Fiscal Policy in Latin America in the Last Decade". IDB Policy Brief 216, Inter-American Development Bank
Published in Desarrollo y Sociedad, 2010
Using household data from the 2006-2007 Households Income and Expenditure survey, we estimate four different specifications of demand systems for Colombia. We also calculate expenditure, income and price elasticities for different groups of goods.
Recommended citation: Cortés, Darwin y Pérez, Jorge (2010) "El Consumo de los Hogares Colombianos, 2006-2007: Estimación de Sistemas de Demanda". Desarrollo y Sociedad