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Rodrigo R. Soares

Columbia University, USA, and IZA, Germany

IZA World of Labor is an important platform that brings the results from the latest research to policymakers and other non-technical audiences. It fills an important gap between academia and policy and helps maximize the impact of policy relevant research within economics

IZA World of Labor role

Author

Current position

Lemann Professor of Brazilian Public Policy and International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, USA

Research interest

Development, health, human capital, population, crime

Website

https://sites.google.com/view/rodrigo-r-soares/

Positions/functions as a policy advisor

Consultant to the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and state governments in Brazil on issues related to health, development, and crime and violence

Past positions

Professor, Sao Paulo School of Economics-FGV, 2013–2016; Associate Professor, PUC-Rio, 2007–2013; Assistant Professor, PUC-Rio, 2005-2007; Assistant Professor, University of Maryland, 2002–2006

Qualifications

PhD Economics, University of Chicago, 2002

Selected publications

  • "The use of violence in illegal markets: Evidence from mahogany trade in the Brazilian Amazon." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 9:4 (2017) (with A. B. Chimeli).

  • "Human capital persistence and development." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 9:4 (2017) (with C. Ferraz and R. Rocha).

  • "The demographic transition and the sexual division of labor." Journal of Political Economy 116:6 (2008): 1058–1104 (with B. Falcão).

  • "Mortality reductions, educational attainment, and fertility choice." American Economic Review 95:3 (2005): 580–601.

  • "The quantity and quality of life and the evolution of world inequality." American Economic Review 95:1 (2005): 277–291 (with G. S. Becker and T. J. Philipson).

article(s)

  • Fighting employment informality with schooling

    Labor force composition is critical for understanding employment informality in developing countries

    Daniel HaanwinckelRodrigo R. Soares, October 2017
    Developing countries have long been struggling to fight informality, focusing on instruments such as labor legislation enforcement, temporary contracts, and changes in taxes imposed on small firms. However, improvements in the labor force’s schooling and skill level may be more effective in reducing informality in the long term. Higher-skilled workers are typically employed by larger firms that use more capital, and that are more likely to be formal. Additionally, when skilled and unskilled workers are complementary in production, unskilled workers’ wages tend to increase, adding yet another force toward reducing informality.
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