Research

with Konstantinos Tatsiramos

Indicative Abstract: This project investigates the causal effects of unemployment insurance on geographic mobility and job placement quality in Germany. It examines whether more generous benefits influence the willingness and ability of unemployed individuals to relocate for work. Using age-related discontinuities in benefit duration from policy reforms between 1987 and 2004, the study applies a local linear regression discontinuity design. It draws on rich administrative data from the Integrated Employment Biographies to track employment histories, residential mobility, and labor market outcomes. The analysis focuses on individuals aged 40–50 who became unemployed before the Hartz IV reforms to ensure institutional consistency.

with Michel Tenikue

We examine the causal effects of gaining free healthcare at age-based eligibility thresholds on healthcare utilization and out-of-pocket expenditure in Senegal. Using a regression discontinuity design around the age five and sixty cutoffs, we find limited and specification-sensitive effects on utilization, but robust and substantial impacts on expenditure—rising above age five and falling above age sixty. A pooled analysis confirms increased utilization and reduced expenditure upon eligibility. We also assess intra-household spillovers and find no effects on ineligible members’ healthcare outcomes. Overall, the results suggest that eligibility delivers more consistent gains in financial protection than in healthcare utilization.