Brandon Enriquez

In this paper, I explore the effects of the Japan trade shock on manufacturing employment and whether they were racially disparate. Most importantly, I test whether differential occupational exposure drove racially disparate effects. Using detailed establishment-level data and a shift-share instrumental variables design, I find that the shock caused substantial decreases in overall manufacturing employment and in Black manufacturing operator employment. I find that two-thirds of the decrease in Black operator employment (relative to that of white operators) was due to disparate occupational exposure. Disparate exposure was associated with local anti-Black prejudice. The Japan shock decreased Black income in affected areas, and had persistent effects on Black poverty and joblessness. Taken together, these results show that aggregate sector-level trade shocks can hit minority workers particularly hard when they are concentrated in exposed occupations.

[Abstract] [Link to Paper]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government expanded unemployment benefits through the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program, which provided an additional $600 in weekly benefits for unemployed workers. Using matched employer-employee data covering 1/5 of the US private-sector workforce, we study the impact of the FPUC program on businesses. While we find little overall effect of FPUC on firm payrolls, we find a pronounced effect on small businesses. The FPUC led to a large increase in small business reopening and a significant decrease in small business closures. Small business employment increased, driven by increased re-hires and decreased separations. We find no effect of the expansion on wages. The results are consistent with a framework where small businesses face more uncertainty in filling vacancies than large businesses – uncertainty that is magnified when worker flows into employment are lower.

Wage garnishment allows creditors to deduct money directly from workers’ paychecks to repay defaulted debts. We document new facts about wage garnishment between 2014–2019 using data from a large payroll processor who distributes paychecks to approximately 20% of U.S. private-sector workers. As of 2019, over one in every 100 workers was being garnished for delinquent debt. The average garnished worker experiences garnishment for five months, during which approximately 11% of gross earnings is remitted to their creditor(s). The beginning of a new garnishment is associated with an increase in job turnover rates but no intensive margin change in hours worked.

[Abstract] [NBER Working Paper Version] [Ungated Version]

We estimate the extensive and intensive margin labor supply response to the monthly Child Tax Credit disbursed in 2021 as a part of the American Rescue Plan Act. Using Current Population Survey microdata, we compare labor supply outcomes among households who qualify for varying relative increases in household income, as a result of their income level and household size. We do not find strong evidence of a change in labor supply for families receiving the credit. The results are robust to alternative labor supply models, where households respond mainly to cash on hand or changes in the annual budget set.