Associate Professor Marian Vidal-Fernandez
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Associate Professor Marian Vidal-Fernandez

BA Universitat Pompeu Fabra, MSc Universitat Pompeu Fabra, PhD Boston University
A/Prof, FASS Dalyell Lead, ARC Life Course Centre
Phone
+61 2 9351 3061
Fax
+61 2 9351 4341
Address
A02 - Social Sciences Building
The University of Sydney
Details
Associate Professor Marian Vidal-Fernandez

Marian Vidal-Fernandez is an Associate Professor at the School of Economics and an Associate Investigator at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course.

She is a human capital economist who employs applied micro-econometrics to study how policy-relevant issues in labor, education, and health impact minorities and populations from a disadvantaged socio-economic status (SES).

For instance, she has studied how setting minimum academic requirements to enrol into athletic activities or obtaining a driving license increases high school graduation and lowers crime rates among poor young adults, the increasing relevance of grandmothers as childcare givers, the birth order effect, the impact personality traits affect productivity, the impact of water contamination on children’s education in India, and the dynamic and heterogeneous impacts of experiencing the death of a sibling.

Marian has published in leading international and interdisciplinary journals such as the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal of Human Resources, the Journal of Economic Behaviour and Organization, and the Economic Journal. Prior to joining The University of Sydney in 2015, she held a lectureship at the University of New South Wales.

Marian is passionate about scientific dissemination, and has been awarded several teaching awards. Her academic work has been cited in several leading media and news outlets, including SMH, Scientific American, Forbes, and BBC News.

  • Human Capital
  • Applied Microeconometrics
  • Labour Economics

Vice-President of Spanish Researchers in Australia and Pacific

Council Member of the European Society of Population Economics

IZA

Women in Economics Network

Life Course Centre

Charles Perkins Centre

VC recognition for extraordinary work in delivering teaching during the COVID-19 (2020)
Excellence in Teaching Award, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences 2019,
Excellence in Refereeing Award, The World Economic Bank Review, 2018
Winner of the Orientation Week Address Debate. FASS, University of Sydney, 26 February 2016
Early Career Researcher Award for the best paper presented by a junior economist at the 2012 AHES
Rosenstein-Rodan Prize for the Best PhD Student Paper in Development Economics, May 2009

Publications

Book Chapters

  • Megalokonomou, R., Vidal-Fernandez, M., Yengin, D. (2022). Underrepresentation of women in undergraduate economics degrees in Europe. In Not known (Eds.), Critical Perspectives on Economics of Education, (pp. 6-20). TBC. [More Information]
  • Vidal-Fernandez, M. (2013). Using Poll Software as a Learner-based Experience Tool in Statistics. In Kathryn Coleman and Adele Flood (Eds.), Disciplines: The Lenses of Learning, (pp. 49-53). Champaign: Common Ground Publishing.

Journals

  • Aggarwal, K., Barua, R., Vidal-Fernandez, M. (2024). Still Waters Run Deep: Groundwater Contamination and Education Outcomes in India. Economics of Education Review, 100(102525), 1-23. [More Information]
  • Barua, R., Hoefer-Martí, I., Vidal-Fernandez, M. (2024). Wheeling into school and out of crime: Evidence from linking driving licenses to minimum academic requirements. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 217, 334-377. [More Information]
  • Fletcher, J., Vidal-Fernandez, M., Wolfe, B. (2018). Dynamic and heterogeneous effects of sibling death on children's outcomes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 115(1), 115-120. [More Information]

Magazine / Newspaper Articles

  • Vidal-Fernandez, M., Nuevo-Chiquero, A. (2016). How parents shape the advantages of being first-born. The Conversation.
  • Siminski, P., Vidal-Fernandez, M., Coventry, W. (2016). Reimagining NSW: tackling education inequality with early intervention and better research. The Conversation.

2024

  • Aggarwal, K., Barua, R., Vidal-Fernandez, M. (2024). Still Waters Run Deep: Groundwater Contamination and Education Outcomes in India. Economics of Education Review, 100(102525), 1-23. [More Information]
  • Barua, R., Hoefer-Martí, I., Vidal-Fernandez, M. (2024). Wheeling into school and out of crime: Evidence from linking driving licenses to minimum academic requirements. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 217, 334-377. [More Information]

2022

  • Megalokonomou, R., Vidal-Fernandez, M., Yengin, D. (2022). Underrepresentation of women in undergraduate economics degrees in Europe. In Not known (Eds.), Critical Perspectives on Economics of Education, (pp. 6-20). TBC. [More Information]

2018

  • Fletcher, J., Vidal-Fernandez, M., Wolfe, B. (2018). Dynamic and heterogeneous effects of sibling death on children's outcomes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 115(1), 115-120. [More Information]
  • Lehman, J., Nuevo-Chiquero, A., Vidal-Fernandez, M. (2018). The early origins of birth order differences in children's outcomes and parental behavior. The Journal of Human Resources, 53(1), 123-156. [More Information]

2017

  • Gine, X., Martinez-Bravo, M., Vidal-Fernandez, M. (2017). Are labor supply decisions consistent with neoclassical preferences? Evidence from Indian boat owners. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 142, 331-347. [More Information]

2016

  • Cubel, M., Nuevo-Chiquero, A., Sanchez-Pages, S., Vidal-Fernandez, M. (2016). Do Personality Traits Affect Productivity? Evidence from the Laboratory. Economic Journal, 126(592), 654-681. [More Information]
  • Vidal-Fernandez, M., Nuevo-Chiquero, A. (2016). How parents shape the advantages of being first-born. The Conversation.
  • Siminski, P., Vidal-Fernandez, M., Coventry, W. (2016). Reimagining NSW: tackling education inequality with early intervention and better research. The Conversation.

2015

  • Aparicio-Fenoll, A., Vidal-Fernandez, M. (2015). Working Women and Fertility: The Role of Grandmothers' Labor Force Participation. CESifo Economic Studies, 61(1), 123-147. [More Information]

2014

  • Barua, R., Vidal-Fernandez, M. (2014). No Pass No Drive: Education and Allocation of Time. Journal of Human Capital, 8(4), 399-431. [More Information]

2013

  • Posadas, J., Vidal-Fernandez, M. (2013). Grandparents' Childcare and Female Labor Force Participation. IZA: Journal of Labor Policy, 2(1), 1-20. [More Information]
  • Vidal-Fernandez, M. (2013). Using Poll Software as a Learner-based Experience Tool in Statistics. In Kathryn Coleman and Adele Flood (Eds.), Disciplines: The Lenses of Learning, (pp. 49-53). Champaign: Common Ground Publishing.

2011

  • Vidal-Fernandez, M. (2011). The Effect of Minimum Academic Requirements to Participate in Sports on High School Graduation. The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy, 11(1), 1-19.

2007

  • Vidal-Fernandez, M., Ellis, R. (2007). Activity-based Payments and Reforms of the English Hospital Payment System. Health Economics, 2(4), 435-444.

Selected Grants

2024

  • Science @Heart, Vidal-Fernandez M, Carrillo Garcia B, Department of Industry, Science and Resources/National Science Week
  • 2024 Equity Prize - Brown - Marian Vidal-Fernandez, Vidal-Fernandez M, DVC Research/Equity Prize: Brown

2017

  • The Effect of Arsenic Poisoning on Education Outcomes: Evidence from Indian Districts, Barua R, Vidal-Fernandez M, Office of Global Engagement/India Development Fund

In the media