Title: Family culture and childcare policies (with Francesca Carta and Lorenzo De Masi)

Abstract: We analyze the influence of past family culture on contemporary preferences for public childcare among U.S. natives and current legislative activity in the House of Representatives. We proxy family culture using historical family principles - equal inheritance and cohabitation- that characterize family structures prior to modern welfare states (Todd, 1983), thus minimizing reverse causality issues. By employing the prevalent family principles in the ancestral countries of origin, we effectively isolate the influence of family culture from other institutional and economic factors. Results from the General Social Survey (GSS) indicate that individuals with ancestors from egalitarian countries are more prone to advocate for public spending in childcare, while those with forebears cohabiting in large family units tend to rely less on formal childcare. Similarly, U.S. representatives from districts with a widespread egalitarian culture among the population's ancestry, as estimated by census data, sponsor more child-related bills, whereas those from cohabitation-oriented districts sponsor less. These findings are specific to children's policies and remain consistent despite political selection. Furthermore, we manually collect extensive genealogical data to identify each politician's ancestral family background. Our findings demonstrate that family culture of congressional districts consistently influences their representatives' legislative engagement with children's policies even when controlling for the politician's own family culture. This provides conclusive evidence that representatives prioritize their constituents' preferences over their own.

Title: Comparing standardized tests and teachers-based-assessments; Evidence from the A-levels fiasco in the UK.

Abstract: The distributional consequence of integrating teachers' assessments with standardized exam scores for college admissions remains challenging to assess. I focus on a unique event in the UK, when the pandemic completely replaced standardized exams with teacher-based assessments of their students, to investigate the changes in the pattern of grade assignment across students and schools. I find the method change led to substantial inflation; students' expected grade increased uniformly across groups with similar performances in a past standardized exam. Non-facilitating subjects experienced higher grade inflation than facilitating subjects. Institutional differences across school types and share of well-performing students also account for differences in the extent of inflation. My findings indicate an inclusion of teachers' predictions to college admissions reward students unevenly.

Title: Group Dissertation with Industry Projects: A Case Study

Abstract: This ongoing research explores a novel approach to Economics postgraduate dissertations by integrating teamwork and industry projects. It applies the equity share model to address free-rider issues within team environments, aiming to nurture collaboration. The interdisciplinary MSc program is designed to promote team-building, a sense of belonging, and an appreciation for diversity among students. Data for the study is drawn from students’ personal reflections, captured through emotional line graphs related to teamwork, assessment, and feedback. These insights are then analyzed alongside student performance, assessment schedules, and team composition to evaluate the experiences of the program’s first cohort. The case study also includes reflection summaries from the team responsible for supervising and delivering the dissertations.

Title: Endogenous Clustering and Analogy-Based Expectation Equilibrium