BRIDGEGAPS - Bridging Gaps in Human Capital

Abstract

The project BRIDGEGAPS is structured around three key actors: individuals, firms, and the public sector. For individuals, the focus is on gender disparities in career progression. Projects include randomized experiments in Germany targeting gendered educational choices, estimating wage dynamics using French data, and analyzing gendered language in academia and media using AI tools. For firms, research explores how they drive wage inequality and respond to large-scale education reforms. A Chilean case study examines general equilibrium effects of college expansions, while another uses Mexican data to analyze the role of informal firms in wage setting. For the public sector, the focus is on attracting and retaining qualified teachers. Using Peruvian recruitment data, one study evaluates hiring practices and teacher effectiveness; another in Norway examines how career uncertainty affects teacher attrition, suggesting reforms for flexible career paths. Led by TSE Professor Matteo Bobba and six core faculty members of the TSE Human Capital Center, the team combines expertise in labor economics, development, econometrics, and behavioral economics. By combining state-of-the-art empirical methods with a rich set of large scale administrative and survey data, BRIDGEGAPS is well positioned to generate insights that can inform public policies aimed at fostering more equitable societies.

Project: 2026-2031

Contact in TSE : Matteo Bobba