ESSAYS IN APPLIED MICROECONOMICS
1.Education Economics, 2.Tourism Economics, 3.Political Economics, 4.Instrumental Variable Approach, 5.Regression Discontinuity Design.
This thesis presents three essays in applied microeconomics. The first chapter investigates the impact of tourism on educational outcomes. To estimate causal effects, I use a instrumental variables approach. The main findings are consistent with the hypothesis that tourism increases the GDP level and raises the opportunity cost for children and young individuals to study. The second chapter explores the effects of tourism on public finances. Once again, the instrumental variables approach is utilized. The results indicate that tourism enhances the fiscal capacity of municipalities, which is associated with improved infrastructure and the selection of better politicians. Finally, the third chapter examines the influence of party alignment during the period of military dictatorship on political variables by exploring the existence of two parties throughout the Brazilian military regime — one party aligned with the military regime and the other party opposing the regime. The results suggest no evidence that municipal-level party alignment is related to electoral manipulation, public finances, and the provision of public goods.