Seminari interni

Scholars and the machine: on automation and academic performance

 

27

FEBRUARY 2025

12:30

A central question in economics is whether technological innovations complement or substitute workers’ skills, thus enhancing or replacing workers’ productivity. However, occupational output is often hard to measure, especially for high-skilled workers performing abstract tasks, making it hard to answer this question. In this paper, we focus on the effect of technology on productivity and inequality within a specific high-skilled group, that of researchers in economics, for whom we measure research output. Specifically, we study the effect of the introduction of DYNARE, a software designed to solve and simulate dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) models. We first develop a dynamic model of research and citation accumulation, in which the arrival of the technology allows some researchers to perform more easily a subset of the tasks needed to write aca- demic papers. Next, we test the model’s implications by leveraging quasi-experimental variation in DYNARE adoption across fields. We implement a difference-in-differences strategy, finding a significant increase in the average number of publications. Consistent with the predictions of the model, the increase in publication is driven by less productive scholars, thus suggesting that the new technology could have led to a decrease in citation inequality.

Education, religious segregation and interfaith marriage

28

NOVEMBER 2024

12:30

This research explores how education promotes interfaith marriage in Indonesia, a predominantly Muslim country. Using data from a school construction program, the study finds that education expansion increased interfaith marriages by fostering trust, not changing religiosity. The findings suggest that education can enhance social cohesion in conflict-prone societies.

Judging the paper by its cover: affiliation bias in conference admissions

16

JANUARY 2025

12:30

This paper tests how academic affiliation affects conference acceptance. Using a field experiment in an economics workshop, we find that disclosing affiliation biases reviewers in favor of authors from prestigious institutions. This bias, driven by in-group favoritism, suggests that affiliation bias may reinforce inequalities and limit academic diversity.

Is temporary work a safety risk? Analyzing the Impact on workplace accidents

16

DECEMBER 2024

12:30

This presentation evaluates Italy's 2018 labor reform, aiming to reduce temporary employment, on work-related injuries. Using a Difference-in-Differences approach, the study finds no overall impact but shows reductions in mild injuries, especially in high-risk groups. These reductions are linked to improved working conditions, highlighting the importance of focusing on conditions rather than contract types to reduce workplace accidents.

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