Ozkan Eren

Measuring the Union–Nonunion Wage Gap Using Propensity Score Matching

This paper examines the union wage effect among private sector wage and salary workers using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics data. We estimate the average union premium by utilizing semi (non) parametric matching techniques, as well as by linear regression model. Our analysis reveals: (1) conditioning linearly on covariates understates the union wage effect. In addition, matching results under the alternative support conditions indicate that selection on unobservables has at most a modest impact on average. (2) Log wage estimations lead to an overstatement of the union wage effect. Solving these problems yields the union membership premium as 21.5 percent.

Does Membership Pay Off for Covered Workers? a Distributional Analysis of the Free Rider Problem

This paper examines the union membership wage premium among private sector employees covered by collective bargaining agreements. Using Current Population Survey data for 2000–2003, the author not only estimates the conditional mean wage premium—the metric on which most previous research has focused—but also employs recently developed (instrumental) quantile regression techniques to estimate the wage effect of membership across the wage distribution. Members enjoyed, on average, a wage premium of 9% over comparable covered nonmembers. Further analyses find no evidence that this mean premium is explained either by unobserved differences or by measurement error. The author also finds that a narrow focus on the mean impact partially masks heterogeneity in the impact across the distribution. Notably, membership wage effects were considerably more pronounced for low wage earners than for high wage earners.

The Effect of Teacher Gender on Student Achievement in Primary School

Using data from a randomized experiment, we find that having a female teacher lowers the math test scores of female primary school students in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Moreover, we do not find any effect of having a female teacher on male students’ test scores (math or reading) or female students’ reading test scores, which seems to rule out explanations pertaining to the unobserved quality differences between male and female teachers. Finally, this negative effect seems to persist only for female students who were assigned to a female teacher with a limited math background.

The Effect of Ability on Young Men's Self‐Employment Decision: Evidence from the NELS

Using the National Educational Longitudinal Study data, we examine the role of pre-market abilities, as well as other determinants, on young men’s self-employment decision. Our results indicate that cognitive and noncognitive abilities are two important, in opposing directions, predictors of self-employment. We also find that cognitive and noncognitive abilities differ in their malleability with the latter being more malleable during adolescence. In addition, having a self-employed father, being black and family size exert large influences on self-employment probability.

Peer Effects in Disadvantaged Primary Schools: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment

Using data from a well-executed randomized experiment, we find that the average classroom peer achievement adversely influences own student achievement in math and reading in primary schools in disadvantaged neighborhoods. In addition, using a unique feature of our data, we provide tentative evidence that our focus on students in primary schools in disadvantaged neighborhoods may potentially be the driving force behind the divergence in our results and the results in the existing literature. Finally, we show that these different peer dynamics in disadvantaged neighborhoods can potentially be explained by the frame of reference and the invidious comparison models.

Judges, Juveniles and In-group Bias

We investigate the existence of in-group bias (preferential treatment of one’s own group) in court decisions. Using the universe of juvenile-court cases in a US state between 1996 and 2012 and exploiting random assignment of juvenile defendants to judges, we find evidence for negative racial in-group bias in judicial decisions. All else being equal, black (white) juveniles who are randomly assigned to black (white) judges are more likely to be placed in custody, as opposed to being placed on probation, and they receive longer sentences. Although observed in experimental settings, this is the first empirical evidence of negative in-group bias based on a randomization design outside the lab. We provide explanations for this finding.

Leadership Activities and Future Earnings: Is There a Causal Relation?

This paper revisits the effect of high school leadership activities on young men’s earnings. Using several data sets and extending a recently developed econometric technique, we show that even a small amount of selection on unobservables explains the entire high school leadership effect on earnings. We also show that the use of observables to address nonrandom selection bias may yield misleading results if the fixed effects are not dealt with properly.

Differential Peer Effects, Student Achievement, and Student Absenteeism: Evidence From a Large-Scale Randomized Experiment

Using data from a well-executed randomized experiment, I examine the effects of gender composition and peer achievement on high school students’ outcomes in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Results show that having a higher proportion of female peers in the classroom improves girls’ math test scores only in less-advanced courses. For male students, the estimated gender peer effects are positive but less precisely estimated. I also find no effect of average classroom achievement on female math test scores. Males, on the other hand, seem to benefit from a higher-achieving classroom. I propose mechanisms relating to lower gender stereotype influences and gender-specific attitudes toward competition as potential explanations for peer effects findings. Finally, having a higher proportion of female students in the classroom decreases student absenteeism among male students but has no impact on female attendance.