Cristina Bélles-Obrero Can Legal Reforms Effectively Combat the Negative Consequences of Child Marriage?
Cristina Bellés-Obrerois a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Mannheim and a Research Affiliate at the IZA Institute for Labor Economics. Previously a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Girona, Bellés-Obrero’s work focuses on the economics of education, health economics and labor economics. Her research has received awards and support from institutions including Pompeu Fabra University (Barcelona), Banc Sabadell and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.
Area of Research
Economics
since 2018
Postdoctoral Researcher
University of Mannheim (Universität Mannheim) (more details)
Department of Economics
2017-2018
Visiting Assistant Professor
Universitat de Girona, Department of Economics
since 2019
Research Affiliate
IZA Institute of Labor Economics
since 2017
Research Fellow
Centre for Research in Health and Economics, Universitat Pompeu Fabra
2013-2017
Ph.D. in Economics
Universitat Pompeu Fabra
2012-2013
Master of Research in Economics
Universitat Pompeu Fabra
2011-2012
Master in Economics
Barcelona Graduate School of Economics
2005-2009
Licentiate in Economics
Universitat Pompeu Fabra
2007-2011
Licentiate in Law
Universitat Pompeu Fabra
- Health Economics
- Review of Public Economics
- Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization
- Economics and Human Biology
- Empirical Economics
Prizes
- Prize “Concurso de Investigación" CAF (2019- 2020)
- Merit based fund to support research, Banc Sabadell, 2015-2016
- Project ECO2017-82350-R, Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (2018-2020)
University of Mannheim (Universität Mannheim)
Mannheim, GermanyFor generations, the University of Mannheim has been preparing students to take on leadership roles in business, academia, and society. One of the university’s strengths in this task is its profile, which is characterized by the economic and social sciences. It is in these fields that the University of Mannheim has repeatedly been ranked as one of the top 20 European research institutions. Key focuses of Mannheim researchers include decision-making processes and elections, governance, regulation, competition and innovation, migration and multilingualism, and the culture of change. The campus surrounding Mannheim’s baroque palace is a place where bright minds from across the globe come together to learn, discuss, research, and prepare to make their mark on the world.
Institute
The Collaborative Research Center (CRC) TR 224 – EPoS
The Collaborative Research Center (CRC) TR 224 – EPoS is a cooperation between the University of Bonn and the University of Mannheim. Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), it aims to analyze and provide policy proposals that address three key societal challenges: how to promote equality of opportunity; how to regulate markets in light of the internationalization and digitalization of economic activity; and how to safeguard the stability of the financial system.
Map
With proven detrimental impacts on women and their offspring, preventing child marriage is an important aspect of the struggle to reduce global poverty.In this video, CRISTINA BELLÉS-OBRERO analyzes the effectiveness of legislative measures designed to combat child marriage in Mexico since 2014. Taking advantage of the fact that the laws were implemented gradually by the different Mexican states, applying a ‘difference in difference’ model alongside data on births, marriages and school attendance, Bellés-Obrero shows that the reforms had no impact on factors including girls’ educational attainment or the health of their babies at the moment of delivery. Because informal unions offer an attractive alternative to formal marriage in Mexico, the reforms have not had the desired effects. Further research will explore whether the inferior legal status of girls in informal unions compared to their formally married peers actually exacerbates the negative effects associated with child marriage.
LT Video Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.21036/LTPUB10876
Will You Marry Me, Later? Age-of-Marriage Laws and Child Marriage in Mexico
- Cristina Bellés-Obrero and Marıa Lombardi
- Published in 2019
