Jorge Pérez Pérez

Jorge Pérez Pérez

Research Economist - Banco de México

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A list of all the posts and pages found on the site. For you robots out there is an XML version available for digesting as well.

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About

Jorge Pérez Pérez - Research Economist - Banco de México

Posts

Workers, Workplaces, Sorting and Wage Dispersion in Mexico

4 minute read

Published:

Between 2004 and 2018, the spread of wages in Mexico’s private labor sector remained stable. Nonetheless, the underlying factors behind salary dispersion underwent significant shifts. To uncover these changes, we analyze an employer-employee dataset comprising the near-universe of Mexico’s formal employment. We estimate log wage models and decompose earnings dispersions into worker, workplace and sorting components. At the national level, we find that sorting increased its importance over time. While worker-level factors were the main contributors to salary variability in the 2004-2008 period, workplace factors became as important as worker-level factors in the 2014-2018 time segment. The influence of workplace factors on wage dispersion correlates negatively with per capita GDP at the regional level.

Disentangling the Effects of Large Minimum Wage and VAT Changes on Prices: Evidence from Mexico

5 minute read

Published:

In January 2019, in an effort to boost activity on the northern Mexican border, the authorities increased the minimum wage by 100 percent and decreased the value-added tax (VAT) by half. Disentangling both effects, we find increments in prices due to the minimum wage hike that were more than offset by the decreases associated with the VAT. In the absence of both policy changes, average prices would have been higher. The share of informal labor in the production of different goods seems to be playing a role in the impact of the minimum wage on prices.

The Efficacy of Hiring Credits in Distressed Areas

4 minute read

Published:

We analyze the efficacy of hiring tax credits, particularly in distressed labor markets. These types of programs have provenhard to assess as their introduction tends to be endogenous. We find sizable and robust impacts on employment and unemployment: a $9,000 credit leads to a nearly 0.5 percentage points reduction in the unemployment rate and a 3% increase in employment in the counties where the credit was made available.

La eficacia de las deducciones fiscales por contratación de trabajadores en áreas deprimidas

5 minute read

Published:

Analizamos la eficacia de las deducciones fiscales por contratación de trabajadores, particularmente en mercados laborales deprimidos. Este tipo de programas ha sido difícil de evaluar por su asignación endógena. Encontramos impactos robustos en el desempleo y en el empleo: una deducción de 9000 dólares por contratación reduce la tasa de desempleo en 0.5 pp e incrementa el empleo en 3% en los condados donde la deducción estuvo disponible.

Los efectos de un incremento en el salario mínimo real en los sectores formal e informal

6 minute read

Published:

Estimo el efecto de un incremento en el salario mínimo real en los salarios formales e informales, y en el empleo en Colombia. Encuentro evidencia de respuestas positivas de los salarios cercanos al mínimo. Los resultados muestran que los salarios alrededor del mínimo aumentan más en el sector formal que en el informal. No encuentro que los salarios informales reaccionen al salario mínimo de manera indirecta, a través de vínculos entre el mercado formal y el informal.

The Effects of a Real Minimum Wage Increase in the Formal and Informal Sectors

5 minute read

Published:

I estimate the effect of a real minimum wage increase on formal and informal wages, and on employment in Colombia. I find evidence of positive wage responses for wages close to the minimum wage. The results show that wages increase more in the formal than in the informal sector. I do not find that informal wages react to the minimum wage indirectly, through the linkages between the formal and the informal market.

Descomponiendo la incidencia de la pobreza multidimensional

6 minute read

Published:

Las medidas de pobreza multidimensional se han vuelto estándar como indicadores complementarios de la pobreza en varios países. Proponemos una aplicación de metodologías existentes que descomponen agregados de bienestar, basadas en simulaciones contrafactuales, para dividir los cambios en la pobreza multidimensional en la variación atribuida a cada una de las dimensiones.

Decomposing multidimensional poverty headcounts

5 minute read

Published:

Multidimensional measures of poverty have become standard as complementary indicators of poverty in many countries. We propose 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.

research

The Consumption of Colombian Households, 2006-2007: Estimation of Demand Systems (In spanish)

Published in Desarrollo y Sociedad, 2010

This paper estimates demand systems for Colombian households using 2006–2007 survey data, examining spending behavior across income groups. We find stable food expenditure elasticities over time, but significant variation across income quintiles. Declining elasticities for health, education, and transport suggest these goods have become necessities, likely reflecting past policy efforts.

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Grading Fiscal Policy in Latin America in the Last Decade

Published in IDB Policy Briefs, 2014

This paper evaluates Latin America’s fiscal performance over the 2000s decade, highlighting both progress and persistent challenges. While countries earned solid marks for countercyclical responses to the Great Recession, many failed to normalize their fiscal positions afterward. Without corrective reforms, the decade’s “C” grade could slip further, but a clear path to fiscal sustainability remained within reach.

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Unpacking the MPI : A Decomposition Approach of Changes in Multidimensional Poverty Headcounts

Listed in World Bank Policy Research Working Paper Series

Coverage: Vox Lacea

Blog post

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.

Download --- Download from World Bank Policy Research Working Paper Series

The Efficacy of Hiring Credits in Distressed Areas

Listed in Banco de Mexico working papers

This paper evaluates a hiring tax credit program in North Carolina using a regression discontinuity design based on county-level distress rankings. We find that a $9,000 credit significantly reduces unemployment by nearly 0.5 percentage points and raises employment by about 3%. These results suggest that well-targeted hiring credits can meaningfully improve labor market outcomes in distressed areas.

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The Minimum Wage in Formal and Informal Sectors: Evidence from an Inflation Shock

Published in World Development, 2020

Coverage: HKUST-IEMS , La Silla Vacia , Observatorio Fiscal

Using an unexpected rise in Colombia’s real minimum wage in 1999, this paper estimates its effects on wages and employment across sectors. Minimum wage increases raised earnings near the bottom of the distribution in both formal and informal sectors—more strongly in the former—suggesting partial compliance and reference-wage behavior.

Download --- Download from World Development --- Replication Files

City Minimum Wages and Spatial Equilibrium Effects

Listed in SocArXiv

Listed in Banco de Mexico working papers

Winner of the 2018 S4 Graduate Student Paper Prize

Coverage: Marginal Revolution

This paper analyzes how local minimum wage hikes reshape spatial equilibrium in U.S. labor markets. Higher minimum wages reduce low-wage commuting into affected areas, with relocation patterns varying by the size of the increase. A spatial model shows that small hikes attract commuters, while larger ones push employment and workers elsewhere.

Download --- Download from SocArXiv --- Download from Banco de Mexico working papers

Visualization, Identification, and Estimation in the Linear Panel Event Study Design

Published in Advances in Economics and Econometrics - Twelfth World Congress (Forthcoming), 2021

Video Series on Linear Panel Event-Study Designs

Coverage: NBER SI 2023 Methods Lectures - Linear Panel Event Study Designs

This paper examines how to improve event-study plots and estimation strategies in linear panel models for policy analysis. We assess the identifying assumptions behind common approaches and evaluate their performance through simulations. Our xtevent Stata package implements these methods to support more informative and robust empirical work.

Download --- Stata Package --- R Library

The Changing Valuation of Airbnb Amenities in Mexico During the COVID-19 Pandemic

We analyze how the pandemic shifted traveler preferences in Mexico’s Airbnb market using hedonic price models. Valuation for amenities tied to remote work, open spaces, and reduced contact—like workspaces, beach fronts, and private areas—rose significantly during COVID-19. These changes occurred despite relatively light tourism and mobility restrictions in the country.

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Urban Transit Infrastructure: Spatial Mismatch and Labor Market Power

Listed in CAF Working Papers

Coverage: CAF Transport Infrastructure for the Development of Latin America

This paper studies the effects of a subway expansion in Santiago, Chile, on local labor market outcomes. The analysis shows that improved transit access led to job relocations and wage changes consistent with reduced labor market power by firms. A spatial equilibrium model finds that accounting for these monopsony effects amplifies the welfare gains of the infrastructure investment.

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Disentangling the Effects of Large Minimum Wage and VAT Changes on Prices: Evidence from Mexico

Published in Labour Economics, 2023

Coverage: Banxico , El CEO , 24 Horas , El Financiero , IMCO , El Financiero (2) , Vox LACEA , GatoPardo , Nada es Gratis , México Como Vamos , IBERO , Gobierno de México

We study the simultaneous doubling of the minimum wage and halving of the VAT on Mexico’s northern border in 2019. While the minimum wage hike pushed prices up, the VAT cut more than offset this effect, leading to lower average prices overall. The degree of labor informality in production helps explain variation in price responses across goods.

Download --- Download from Labour Economics

Matching and City Size Wage Gaps under the Shadow of Informality: Evidence from Mexico (Reject and Resubmit, Regional Science and Urban Economics)

This paper examines how informality shapes the relationship between city size and labor market matching in Mexico. While larger cities typically enhance assortative matching, this effect is muted in Mexico’s formal sector, where informality is widespread. We find that cities with larger informal sectors exhibit weaker matching patterns in their formal labor markets.

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Expenditure Responses to Adverse Health Shocks: Evidence from a Panel of Colombian Households

Listed in Banco de Mexico working papers

Listed in SocArXiv (Older version)

This paper studies how Colombian households adjust spending after health shocks, finding a trade-off between food and health expenditures. The extent of this adjustment varies by social protection access, job formality, and rural or urban setting. Rural and informal households bear the greatest burden, highlighting the protective role of formal employment and strong institutions.

Download --- Download from Banco de Mexico working papers --- Download from SocArXiv (Older version)

Better or Worse Job Accessibility? Understanding Changes in Spatial Mismatch at the Intra-urban Level in Medellín (Revise and Resubmit, 2nd round, Journal of Transport Geography)

This paper introduces a method to measure spatial mismatch that accounts for both transportation and opportunity costs. Applied to Medellín (2012–2017), the analysis shows rising spatial mismatch overall—driven largely by declining job accessibility via private transport. Public transit investments may have helped offset this trend for lower-income commuters.

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Workers, Workplaces, Sorting, and Wage Dispersion in Mexico

Published in Economía LACEA, 2024

Using matched employer-employee data from 2004–2018, this paper decomposes wage dispersion in Mexico into worker, workplace, and sorting components. We find that while overall wage inequality remained stable, the role of sorting and workplace effects grew, particularly in less-developed regions. By the end of the period, workplace characteristics contributed as much to wage variance as worker characteristics.

Download --- Download from Economía LACEA --- Download from Banco de Mexico working papers

Housing Price Gradients in Mexico City During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Listed in Banco de Mexico working papers

Unlike trends seen in many developed cities, Mexico City’s housing price gradient remained stable during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using data from 2019 to 2022, we find no significant change in the relationship between housing prices and distance to the center. Limited remote work, credit constraints, and distinct pandemic policies may explain this divergence.

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Local Labor Markets in Mexico: Definition, Databases, and Descriptive Analysis

Listed in Banxico SIDIE Datasets

This paper defines local labor markets in Mexico by grouping economically integrated municipalities, following international best practices. It links these markets to INEGI census data from 1990 to 2020, creating a valuable resource for labor market research. The resulting framework enables more accurate analysis of local labor market dynamics.

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xtevent: Estimation and Visualization in the Linear Panel Event-Study Design

Published in Stata Journal, 2025

Video Series on Linear Panel Event-Study Designs

This paper introduces the xtevent package for estimating and visualizing policy effects in linear panel event-study designs. It builds on recent methodological advances from Freyaldenhoven et al. (Forthcoming) to allow for flexible treatments, pre-trend adjustments, and more informative event-study plots. The package is designed to make best practices in estimation and visualization accessible to applied researchers.

Download --- Download from Stata Journal --- Stata Package

Violation and Enforcement of Labor Regulations: Evidence from Mexican Firm Inspections

We study how labor regulation enforcement affects firms and workers in Mexico’s manufacturing sector. Inspections lead to better compliance—more training, fewer accidents, and fewer repeat violations—and boost employment by around 4%. The results suggest that enforcement can curb monopsonistic practices and improve both working conditions and labor supply.

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teaching

Microeconomic Analysis

Undergraduate course, Universidad del Rosario, Department of Economics, 2010

Introductory microeconomics course for political science and international relations students.

Microeconomics I

Undergraduate course, Universidad del Rosario, Department of Economics, 2017

Introductory microeconomics course for economics and finance students.

Urban Economics

Graduate course, ITAM, 2019

Urban Economics for Graduate Students

Urban Economics

Graduate course, ITAM, 2021

Urban Economics for Graduate Students

Labor Economics

Graduate course, ITAM, 2022

Labor Economics for Graduate Students