Miguel Santiago Pulido-Estupiñan

Work in Progress

Exploring Spatial Wage Curves: Evidence from Colombia’s Formal and Informal Employment

This paper estimates spatial wage curves for formal and informal workers in Colombia, using data from the Colombian Labor Force Survey (GEIH) for the period 2016-2019. Unlike previous Colombian wage curve studies, this analysis uses four different spatial matrices that focus on factors such as contiguity, distance, and intraregional economic activity. In addition, the study calculates informal-formal wage curve differentials by gender and education level, while also taking into account characteristics that would affect selection into formal and informal employment. Methodologically, the study employs a two-stage least squares (2SLS) approach using the lagged unemployment rate as an instrumental variable. The results show that informal workers, especially males and those with less education, are more sensitive compared to their formal, female and more educated counterparts. The study also shows that spatial spillovers have a positive effect on the wages of formal workers, while having a negative impact on informal workers.

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Pre-doctoral Work

The end of the FARC conflict, the beginning of Colombian economic growth, (with U. Muratori and J. Vargas )