María Lombardi es Profesora e Investigadora en la Escuela de Gobierno de la Universidad Torcuato Di Tella e Investigadora Asociada del Centro para la Evaluación de Políticas basadas en Evidencia (CEPE) de la misma universidad. Tiene un PhD en Economía por la Universidad Pompeu Fabra y es Licenciada en Economía por la Universidad de San Andrés. Fue profesora e investigadora en la Universidad de Gotemburgo y sus trabajos se centran en temas de Desarrollo Económico y Economía de la Educación. Sus investigaciones han sido publicadas en revistas académicas como Labour Economics, Economic Development and Cultural Change, Journal of Human Resources, Economics of Education Review, Journal of Economic Growth y Journal of Public Economics, entre otras.

Abstract: When sampled individuals are not found at home, many surveys rely on a proxy—another knowledgeable household member. We study the difference between self- and proxy-reported labor income in Mexico. We use the panel structure of the Mexican labor force survey, and compare the income of the same worker when they report it themselves as opposed to when another household member does the reporting. We find that the monthly wages of male workers are 6.1% lower when reported by a proxy. For female workers, the reporting gap is minute. We provide evidence that the gap in reported income of male workers is due to asymmetry of information within the household, in part due to males hiding income from their relatives. Finally, we study the implications of using proxy respondents, and find that it can produce an underestimation of the gender wage gap by 55%.

Autores: Ricardo Estrada (CAF), Daniela Goyheix (CAF) y María Lombardi (UTDT)

Organizan: Departamento de Economía, Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Revista Económica

Contacto: iie@econo.unlp.edu.ar