Oscar Galvez-Soriano
About me
I am an Assistant Instructional Professor in the Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics and the College at The University of Chicago
I hold a PhD in Economics from the University of Houston. I obtained a BS in Agricultural Economics from Universidad Autónoma Chapingo and a MS in Economics from El Colegio de México
I previously worked as an economist at the Research Department of the Central Bank of Mexico
My primary research fields include Labor Economics, Applied Econometrics and Economics of Education
Contact information
Email:
ogalvez@uchicago.edu
Mailing Address:
The University of Chicago
Department of Economics
1126 E. 59th St.
Chicago, IL 60637
CV
Education
PhD in Economics, University of Houston, 2023
MA in Economics, University of Houston, 2021
MS in Economics, El Colegio de México, 2013
BS in Agricultural Economics, Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, 2011
Current Position
Assistant Instructional Professor, The University of Chicago, 2023-Present
Work Experience
Researcher, University of Houston, Summer 2020, 2021
Economist, Research Department at Banco de México, 2014-2018
Researcher, Sustainable Food and Development (think tank), 2013-2014
Honors and Awards
PhD Research Fellowship, Department of Financial Education, Banco de México, Summer 2022
CLASS Summer Fellowship for Research Excellence and Diversity, UH, Spring 2022
Best Presentation Award, University of Houston Graduate Student Workshop, May 2022
Dr. Walter J. Primeaux Jr. and Natalie A. Primeaux Scholarship, University of Houston, Spring 2022
Cullen Graduate Student Success Fellowship, University of Houston, July 2021
PhD Research Fellowship, Economic Research Department, Banco de México, Summer 2021
Best Presentation Award, University of Houston Graduate Student Workshop, May 2021
Doctoral Student Tuition Fellowship, University of Houston, 2018-2023
Doctoral Scholarship, CONACYT/University of Houston, 2018-2022
Presidential Fellowship, University of Houston, 2018-2020
Josué Sáenz prize, El Colegio de México, January 2014
Graduate Scholarship, CONACYT/El Colegio de México, 2011-2013
Undergraduate Scholarship, Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, 2007-2011
Presentations
ASSA Annual Meeting (2025), Association for Education Finance and Policy (2024), Banco de México (2023, 2022, 2021, 2015), CUNEF University (2023), El Colegio de México (2023, 2013), Global Labor Organization Conference (2022), Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (2015), Missouri Valley Economic Association (2022), PhD-Economics Virtual Seminar (2022), Rochester Institute of Technology (2023), Southern Economic Association (2025, 2024, 2022, 2021), Tecnológico de Monterrey (2023), Universidad Autónoma Chapingo (2026, 2024, 2021, 2017), Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México (2024), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (2016), Universidad Pontificia Comillas (2022), University of Houston (2022, 2021, 2020), University of Nebraska-Lincoln (2025), University of Nebraska-Omaha (2025), Western Economic Association (2024, 2026)
Referee Experience
Empirical Economics, Estudios Económicos, The Mexican Journal of Economics and Finance, International Journal of Statistics and Geography
You can also visit my personal website at: https://sites.google.com/site/oscargalvezsoriano/
Research
Publications
Foreign language skills and labor market outcomes: The case of English in Mexico, (2025), Economics of Education Review, 108(5): 1-25.
This paper examines the labor market effects of English instruction in the context of a developing, non-English-speaking country. I leverage a natural experiment in Mexico, where six states introduced English as a subject in public elementary schools during the 1990s. Using individual-level data from the 2014 Subjective Well-being Survey, which uniquely includes a self-reported measure of English-speaking ability, I estimate the causal effects of these policy changes using a staggered Difference-in-Differences design with robust estimators that account for treatment effect heterogeneity. The results indicate that state English programs increased English proficiency, especially among individuals from higher-income households and those with more educated parents. However, despite this improvement in language skills, the programs had no significant effect on wages. I show that this null effect is consistent with general equilibrium dynamics: the interventions expanded labor supply, particularly among women and low-educated individuals, but did not raise labor demand sufficiently to generate wage gains. Complementary analyses show no impact on higher education enrollment, domestic or international migration, or shifts between formal and informal employment. These findings suggest that while early exposure to English instruction can increase language proficiency and labor force participation, the broader economic benefits may be limited in the absence of complementary labor demand shocks. This contributes new evidence to the literature on language skills and labor markets, highlighting the importance of considering equilibrium effects and workforce composition when evaluating education policies.
Minimum eligibility age for social pensions and household poverty: Evidence from Mexico, (2024) with David Escamilla and Clemente Avila. Economic Inquiry, 62(1): 175-196.
This paper examines the impact of social pensions on old-age poverty. To achieve causal identification, we leverage the reduction in the minimum eligibility age of Mexico’s flagship non-means-tested social pension program. We find that the program’s expansion significantly reduced extreme poverty, mainly among indigenous seniors and in rural areas. However, it had negligible effects on labor force participation, suggesting that social pensions were not effective in ensuring minimum economic well-being and simultaneously inducing retirement among seniors at early stages of old age. The program’s small cash transfer and mistargeting are among the main explanations.
Working Papers
Biofuel Growth: The Unintended Effects of the Ethanol Boom on Farmland Values, with Hoanh Le (You can download an older version of this paper here)
This paper provides the first causal estimates of the impact of the U.S. ethanol boom on farmland values in the Midwest. Using county-level data from the Census of Agriculture (1997–2022) and a difference-in-differences strategy that exploits variation in soil productivity, we find that farmland values in high corn-suitability counties increased by $1,318 per acre after 2005, equivalent to a 68 percent gain relative to pre-boom levels. The effects are even larger in the most productive counties, where land values more than doubled. Unlike prior research that has emphasized localized effects near ethanol plants, our results show that farmland appreciation was market-wide, driven by policy-induced demand for ethanol rather than ethanol plant location. We also identify two reinforcing mechanisms: a short-run response to higher corn prices and a longer-run increase in farmland demand. These findings highlight how large-scale energy policies can reshape rural land markets in ways that extend well beyond their intended objectives.
Global Language, Local Identity: English Education and Indigenous Skill Formation in Mexico, with Ornella Darova (Draft available upon request)
As countries expand English instruction to promote global economic integration, policymakers often worry this may erode indigenous languages and cultural heritage. This paper examines this concern through a natural experiment in Mexico, where six states introduced English programs in public primary schools during the 1990s. Using a staggered difference-in-differences design and Mexico’s School and Population Censuses, we find, unexpectedly, that exposure to English increased the likelihood of self-reported understanding and speaking an indigenous language by 1.2 and 0.7 percentage points, respectively - substantial effects given the low baseline rates of 2.2% and 1.4%. We also document a 1.7 percentage point increase in indigenous self-identification from a baseline of 8.26%, accompanied by significantly greater geographic mobility. These findings suggest that multilingual education can simultaneously promote economic integration and reinforce cultural distinctiveness.
Labor market assimilation of workers with new skills: Evidence from Mexico’s National English Program, with Jorge Perez Perez and Francisco Cabrera-Hernandez (Draft available upon request)
We evaluate the effects of a 2009 policy that introduced English instruction in Mexican public elementary schools. Using a novel administrative dataset linking social security records, school census data, and standardized test scores, we implement a staggered difference-in-differences strategy. Exposure decreases formal sector employment but raises wages and shifts workers toward English-intensive industries. Wage gains are concentrated among high-ability individuals and those with limited initial exposure. Test score declines in core subjects fade with continued exposure, suggesting minimal cognitive trade-offs. External validation confirms strong gains in English proficiency, supporting skill acquisition as the key mechanism behind observed labor market effects.
The unintended effects of universalizing social pensions: Evidence from Mexico, with Raymundo Ramirez Peralta (Draft available upon request)
This paper examines the effects of the 2019 universalization of Mexico’s Pensión para el Bienestar de las Personas Adultas Mayores (PAM), one of the country’s most expansive and politically salient social programs. The reform simultaneously increased the cash transfer and extended eligibility to all individuals aged 65 and over, regardless of income or contributory pension status. Using nationally representative data from the ENIGH and a triple-differences (DDD) identification strategy, we estimate the causal effect of the universalization on poverty and labor market outcomes. Our empirical approach exploits variation across time (pre- and post-reform), age (eligible vs. ineligible), and pension scheme status (non-contributory vs. contributory), allowing us to separate the effects of expanded eligibility from those of increased benefit levels. We find no significant change in overall poverty rates, suggesting that many new beneficiaries were not economically vulnerable. However, we document a surprising increase in extreme poverty, concentrated among low-income elderly who responded to the reform by exiting the labor force. This reduction in labor supply, driven by a significant drop in employment among individuals in the bottom income quartile, suggests that the pension acted as a substitute for labor income rather than a supplement. Taken together, the results underscore the trade-offs of universal pension programs: while broader access reduces administrative exclusion, it can weaken targeting precision and introduce unintended behavioral responses that offset potential welfare gains.
Work in Progress
Economic returns to college education for poor students: Evidence from a free college program in Mexico (with Roberto Rivera)
Road construction: Evidence on labor, development, and food prices in Mexico (with Jaime Arrieta Ortega)
Remittances and their causal effect on development (with Eduardo Medina-Cortina)
Rent Capture by Central Cities (with Steven Craig, Janet Kohlhase and Annie Hsu)
Predoctoral publications
Developed at the Central Bank of Mexico
Nowcasting Mexico’s quarterly GDP using factor models and bridge equations. (2020). Estudios Económicos, 35(2): 213-265
Nowcasting Mexico’s Quarterly GDP using Factor Models and Bridge Equations (this version in Spanish), Banco de México Working Papers Series, 2018-06
In collaboration with my former students
Informality, poverty and consumption in Mexico, with Ramírez-Loyola and Vega-Valdivia. (2022). The Mexican Journal of Economics and Finance, 17(2): 1-20
Is there a pass-through from the international coffee price to the Mexican coffee market? with Miguel Cortés. (2021). Studies in Agricultural Economics, 123(2): 86-94
How to Measure the Multidimensional Inequality with Household Surveys: The Mexican Case, with Paulina Benitez-Blacio. (2018). The Mexican Journal of Economics and Finance, 13(2):175-193
Master’s thesis
Could Education Increase the Economic Growth of Mexico? (2020). Análisis Económico, 35(89): 37-64