Marian Vidal-Fernandez

Marian Vidal-Fernandez is an Associate Professor in the School of Economics at the University of Sydney, part of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. She holds a PhD in Economics from Boston University (2011), an MSc in Economics from Universitat Pompeu Fabra (2005), and a BA in Economics from the same university (2004). Her dissertation, 'Essays on Education and Labor Supply,' was supervised by Kevin Lang and Daniele Paserman. She also obtained a Graduate Certificate in University Learning and Teaching from UNSW in 2014. Prior to her current role, she was Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney from July 2015 to December 2019 and Lecturer at the University of New South Wales from August 2010 to July 2015.

Vidal-Fernandez's research focuses on labor economics, education, health economics, and human capital development, utilizing applied microeconometrics to analyze policy issues such as birth order effects, sibling influences, and labor supply decisions. Key publications include 'The Early Origins of Birth Order Differences in Children’s Outcomes and Parental Behavior' (Journal of Human Resources, 2018, with Jee K. Lehmann and Ana Nuevo-Chiquero), 'Dynamic and Heterogeneous Effects of Sibling Death on Children’s Outcomes' (PNAS, 2018, with Jason Fletcher and Barbara Wolfe), 'Are Labor Supply Decisions Consistent with Neoclassical Preferences? Evidence from Indian Boat Owners' (Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 2017, with Xavier Giné and Monica Martínez-Bravo), 'Do Personality Traits Affect Productivity? Evidence from the Laboratory' (The Economic Journal, 2016, with Maria Cubel et al.), and 'No Pass No Drive: Education and Allocation of Time' (The Journal of Human Capital, 2014, with Rashmi Barua). She has contributed to books, such as a chapter in 'Handbook of Economics of Education' (forthcoming 2022). Her work has been funded by grants including the Collaborative and Interactive Learning Initiative Grant (University of Sydney, 2020, AUD 10,000), Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland (2018-2019, GBP 9,000), and UNSW Business School grants (2011-2013). Awards include the Excellence in Teaching Award (Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, 2019), Vice-Chancellor's recognition for COVID-19 teaching (2020), Excellence in Refereeing Award (The World Bank Economic Review, 2018), and Early Career Researcher Award (Australian Health Economics Society, 2012). She serves as Council Member of the European Society of Population Economics, Secretary of Spanish Researchers in Australia-Pacific, and referee for journals like Journal of Labor Economics, Journal of Human Resources, and Labour Economics. Additional affiliations include IZA Research Affiliate, Associate Investigator at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families, and member of the Life Course Centre and Charles Perkins Centre.

Professional Email: m.vidal-fdez@sydney.edu.au