Research

Publications

A Lifecycle Estimator for Intergenerational Earnings Mobility (with Martin Nybom and Jan Stuhler) (Accepted, Review of Economics and Statistics) (WP Version)

Trade shocks and Higher-order Earnings Risk in Local Labor Markets (with Tomás Martínez) (International Economic Review, vol. 65, issue 4, November 2024) (WP Version)

Affirmative Action and the Choice of Schools (Journal of Public Economics, Vol. 219, March 2023, 104824) (WP Version)

•  Media coverage: BBC Brasil (29/12/2020), Site UOL (29/12/2020)

Affirmative Action, Centralized Admissions and Access of Low-income Students to Higher Education (American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2022, vol. 14, n.3) (WP Version)

• Media coverage: O Globo (24/07/2022), Folha de São Paulo (26/06/2021), Valor Econômico (15/02/2019)

Working Papers

Gender and Top Lifetime Earnings Inequality: Ten New Facts from Brazil (with Tomás Martinez and Antonio Martins-Neto) (Draft)

This paper presents ten new facts on gender and top lifetime earnings inequality in Brazil, drawing on rich administrative data covering nearly the entire formal labor market from 1985 to 2018. We document significant gender disparities in lifetime earnings, particularly among top earners, where women are both underrepresented and face larger earnings gaps compared to men. We identify key drivers of this inequality, including career interruptions, occupational segregation, employment in large firms, and job-switching patterns. Public sector employment partially mitigates these gaps.

Work in Progress

Mentorship Networks and the Early Career Outcomes of College-educated women in Brazil (with Ana Paula Melo and Maria Oaquim) (Conditionally accepted via pre-results review, Journal of Development Economics) 

Affirmative Action and Demand for Schooling: Evidence from Nationwide Policies (with Ana Paula Melo)

Bridging the Soft-skills Gap Through Technology (with Emily Beam, Ricardo Dahis and Laia Navarro-Sola)

Policy Research 

Loureiro, Andre; Louise Cruz & Ursula Mello (2021). Brazil Case Study. In: “Al-Samarrai, Samer; Lewis, Blane. 2021. The Role of Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers in Improving Education Outcomes. International Development in Focus;. Washington, DC: World Bank. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/35838 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”

Mello, Ursula & Adriano Senkevics (2022). Balanço dos dez anos da política federal de cotas na educação superior (Lei 12.711/2012). Cadernos de Estudos e Pesquisas em Políticas Educacionais. INEP, Ed.6, pg. 209-232. 

Mello, Ursula & Adriano Senkevics (2020). O perfil dos cursos de graduação das universidades federais foi alterado após a Lei de Cotas? In: Barbosa, M.L. A Expansão Desigual do Ensino Superior. Editora Appris, Ed.1, pg. 83-108.

Mello, Ursula & Adriano Senkevics (2019). O perfil discente das universidades federais mudou pós-Lei de Cotas? Cadernos de Pesquisa, v.49, n. 172, p. 184-208. 

• Media coverage: Valor Econômico (10/6/2019), Revista Veja (14/08/2020)

Mello, Ursula & Adriano Senkevics (2018). Panorama de Dados e Indicadores para o Monitoramento da Lei de Cotas. Cadernos de Estudos e Pesquisas em Políticas Educacionais. INEP, Ed.1, pg. 275-300.