Essays in Applied Microeconomics

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the implications of different aspects of economic uncertainty. The first two chapters analyze the effect of education policy in the presence of economic uncertainty. The results offer important lessons for education policies such as mandatory schooling policies, tracking policies, or the integration of vocational programs with other schooling options. The last chapter is about the formation of household beliefs. The study suggests that households use very different belief formation processes when forming macroeconomic expectations.