Dear friends and colleagues:

We are happy to welcome Sofia Fernandez Guerrico to the Dulbea as a new postdoctoral researcher. Sofia received her PhD in Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in August 2020. Her fields of research interest are Labor, Health, Development, and International Economics. On this occasion and given the current circumstances, we would like you to invite you to the talk she will give Thursday November 12th at 16h00 (Brussels time).

Title: The Effects of Trade-Induced Worker Displacement on Health and Mortality in Mexico

Speaker: Sofia Fernandez Guerrico (Dulbea – ULB)

When: Thursday, November 12th at 16h00 (Brussels time)

Abstract: Recent research in the U.S. links trade-induced job displacement to deaths of despair. Should we expect the same mortality response in developing countries? This paper analyzes the effect of a trade-induced negative shock to manufacturing employment on leading causes of mortality in Mexico between 1998 and 2013. I exploit cross-municipality variation in trade exposure based on differences in industry specialization before China’s accession to the WTO in 2001 to instrument for changes in local manufacturing employment. I find trade-induced job loss increased mortality from diabetes, raised obesity rates, reduced physical activity, and lowered access to health insurance. These deaths were offset by declines in mortality from alcohol-related liver disease and ischemic heart disease. These findings highlight that negative employment shocks have heterogeneous impacts on mortality in developing countries, where falling incomes lead to less access to health care and nutritious food, but also reduce alcohol and tobacco use.

Link to the paper: [Here]

For more information please contact : dulbea@ulb.be