Douglas McKee

Post-doctoral Scholar

Economic Growth Center

Yale University

P.O. Box 208269

New Haven, CT 06520-8269

tel: 310-266-2438

douglas.mckee@yale.edu

Curriculum Vitae

Research Interests

Economic Development, Applied Microeconomics, Labor Economics, Structural Estimation

Publications

"Health Consequences of Forest Fires in Indonesia" (with Elizabeth Frankenberg and Duncan Thomas), Demography, 2005. (abstract, paper)

Working Papers

"Forward Thinking and Family Support: Explaining Retirement and Old Age Labor Supply in Indonesia" (Revise and Resubmit) (abstract, paper)

This article develops a structural dynamic model of retirement for developing countries and estimates this model using Indonesian data. The model incorporates forms of old age support that are common in developed countries, such as government pensions, as well as mechanisms that are more important in developing countries including coresidence with family members, transfer payments, and health-related changes in labor productivity.

"Do Good Kids Finish First? Characterizing the Bequest Motive in Mexico" (with Beth Soldo) (Under Review) (abstract, paper)

This paper tests the major bequest motive theories using longitudinal data (the Mexican Health and Aging Study) that include a population-representative sample of bequests and bequest plans in Mexico. Results show that children who provide support to parents and have more frequent contact with them were significantly more likely to receive higher future bequests than their siblings.

"The Longer-term Effects of Human Capital Enrichment Programs on Poverty and Inequality: Oportunidades in Mexico" (with Petra Todd) (Under Review) (abstract, paper)

Over the last ten years Mexico has improved the schooling and health of millions of disadvantaged children through the Oportunidades (previously PROGRESA) program. In this paper we use nonparametric techniques to simulate the potential effects of this program on future poverty rates and income inequality in Mexico.

Work in Progress

"Retirement Behavior in Mexico After the 1997 Pension Reform" (abstract)

In 1997 the Mexican government replaced its existing defined benefit pension program with a system of privately managed individual retirement accounts for all formal sector workers. In this paper I model retirement behavior in this new policy context and incorporate important factors such as private saving, family support, and migration between urban and rural areas.

"Cross-Cohort Changes in the Returns to Schooling, Early Work Experience, and Unobserved Skills" (with Marigee Bacolod and V. Joseph Hotz) (abstract)

This study uses two cohorts of the National Longitudinal Survey to examine how the wage returns to schooling, early work experience, and unobservable skills changed for young men and women in the United States over the latter half of the twentieth century.

"The Dynamics of Schooling and Occupational Choice in the United States" (with Moshe Buchinsky)

In this paper we develop and estimate a structural dynamic model of schooling and occupational choice using the NLSY79. We pay close attention to the sensitivity of the model to different assumptions about how individuals forecast the evolution of returns to schooling and experience in different occupations and industries.

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