Research

Non-state actors, human capital, and development

Making a Narco: Childhood Exposure to Illegal Labor Markets and Criminal Life Paths   Econometrica, 2022. Media: Marginal Revolution,  VoxDev,  World Bank, Diario Gestion , Econimate, The Economist

Spreading Gangs: Exporting US Criminal Capital to El Salvador   American Economic Review,  2022. Media: Crisis Group Report, Washington Post , VoxDev

Market Structure and Extortion: Evidence from 50,000 Extortion Payments joint with Zach Y. Brown, Eduardo Montero, and Carlos Schmidt-Padilla . Review of Economic Studies, 2024. Media: ProMarket, The Guardian , El Diario de Hoy, MarketPower

Gangs, Labor Mobility and Development joint with Nikita Melnikov and Carlos Schmidt-Padilla . Conditionally Accepted. Econometrica. Media: Probable Causation, The Economist, Marginal RevolutionMarginal revolutionVoxDev

US Criminal Deportations and Human Capital in Central America American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings, 2019

Rebel Governance and Development: The Persistent Effects of Guerrillas in El Salvador joint with Antonella Bandiera, Lelys Dinarte, Juan Miguel Jimenez, and Sandra Rozo 

Can Attitudinal Changes Towards Reporting Curb Violence? An Experimental School Intervention in Peru  joint with Italo A. Gutierrez, Hugo ̃Nopo, and Oswaldo Molina 

Gender-based violence

Sexual Harassment and Police Biases in Public Spaces: Experimental Evidence from Urban India joint with Sofia Amaral, Girija Borker, Nathan Fiala, Anjani Kumar, and Nishith Prakash.   Accepted. Quarterly Journal of Economics

The Effects of Adult Entertainment Establishments on Sex Crime: Evidence from New York City  joint with Riccardo Ciacci.  Economic Journal,  2022. Media: Marginal Revolution 

Gender Violence, Enforcement and Human Capital: Evidence from Women Justice Centers in Peru  joint with Iva Trako.  Journal of Development Economics, 2024. Media: El ComercioMinisterio de la Mujer y Poblaciones Vulnerables en Peru ,   Redesarrollo,   Revista G7, Pew

Gender-Based Violence in Schools and Girls’ Education: Experimental Evidence from Mozambique joint with Sofia Amaral,  Aixa Garcia-Ramos, Selim Gulesci Sarita Ore Quispe, and Alejandra Ramos

  • As part of a collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Mozambique.

Migration

Is a Refugee Crisis a Housing Crisis? Only if Housing Supply is Unresponsive  joint with  Sandra Rozo. Journal of Development Economics, 2021.

The Unintended Consequences of Deportations: Evidence from Firm Behavior in El Salvador joint with Antonella Bandiera, Lelys Dinarte, Sandra Rozo , Carlos Schmidt Padilla and Hernan Winkler.  Economic Development and Cultural Change, 2023.

Other topics

Gentrification and the Rising Returns to Skill  joint with Lena Edlund and Cecilia Machado. Economica, 2022. Media: The Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Chicago Tribune, Bloomberg View, and The Huffington Post

Auspicious Birth Dates Among Chinese in California  joint with Douglas Almond, Christine Pal Chee and Nan Zhong.  Economics and Human Biology, 2015.

Work in progress 

Should I stay or should I go? The unintended effects of enfranchisement joint with Wilber Baires and Juan Vargas. Media: FocoEconomico

Long-term Effects of Temporary Labor Demand: Free Trade Zones, Female Education and Marriage Market Outcomes in the Dominican Republic (new draft coming soon) 

Gender-based Violence and Police Reform joint with Sofia Amaral, Girija Borker, Nishith Prakash 

  • As part of a collaboration with the police in Bihar, India.
  • Status: Intervention in the field.

Mass Migration, the Perpetuation of Autocratic Leaders and Development in Origin Countries: Evidence from Venezuela joint with Nicolás Cabra and Sandra Rozo

Breaking the Gang: A Preventive Approach to Reduce Recruitment in Schools joint with Eleno Castro, Felipe Coy and Carlos Schmidt-Padilla