Research

My research interest are in applied microeconomics economics and rigorous evaluation based on econometric theory.

I am interested in collaboration on different topics related to poverty; health and well-being; crime and violence; behavioral and experimental economics; applied econometrics; urban and labor economics. Feel free to contact me!

Google Scholar Page.

Peer-reviewed articles:

  • The Health Effects of In Utero Exposure to Cash Transfers. Forthcoming at Journal of Human Resources
    (with Syeda Warda Riaz)—access here. Final draft available here.
  • Social Protection Amid a Crisis: New Evidence from South Africa’s Older Person’s Grant (2024). The World Bank Economic Review 38(2)
    (with Jeffrey Bloem & Jonathan Malacarne)—access here. Latest draft available here.
  • Income, Psychological Well-being, and the Dynamics of Poverty (2024). Economic Development and Cultural Change 72(4)
    —access here. Final draft available here.
  • Income Improves Subjective Well-Being: Evidence from South Africa (2023). Economic Development and Cultural Change 71(2)
    (with Stephen Wu)—access here. Final draft available here.
  • Neighborhood Violence, Poverty, and Psychological Well-being (2022). Journal of Development Economics (154) 102756
    (with Jeffrey Bloem)––access here.
  • The Psychological Toll of Food Insecurity (2022). Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization (204) 618-630
    (with Jeffrey Bloem)—access here.
  • Do Shocks and Environmental Factors Shape Personality Traits? Evidence from the Ultra-Poor in Uganda (2022). Journal of Development Studies.
    (with Sikhar Mehra and Yaniv Stopnitzky)—access here.
  • Economic Life in Refugee Camps (2017). World Development (95) 334-347
    (with J. Ed Taylor, Anubhab Gupta, Irvin Rojas, & Ernesto Gonzalez)—access here.
  • Economic Impact of Refugees (2016). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 113(27) 7449–7453
    (with J. Ed Taylor, Mateusz Filipski, Anubhab Gupta, Irvin Rojas, & Ernesto Gonzalez)—open access here.
  • Informality and Exclusion: Evidence from Matched Employer-Employee data for Lebanon and Syria (2013). IZA Journal of Labor Policy 2(18)
    (with Roberta Gatti, Joana Silva, & Carole Chartouni)—open access here.

Working Papers

  • On the Definition and Estimation of Economic Resilience using Counterfactuals (with Michael Carter).
  • Social Protection and Perinatal Depression: Evidence from South Africa (with Syeda Warda Riaz and Jeffrey Bloem)
    • Under review. Draft available here (Updated August 2025).
  • Empirical Detection of Poverty Traps and Unnecessary Deprivation (with Michael Carter).
    • Draft available here (updated October 2024).
  • Poverty and Engagement with Children
    • Draft available here (updated July 2024)

Ongoing projects:

Years in Single Parent households and Long-term outcomes (with Abigail Mangiafico and Evelyn Skoy)

Psychological Resilience and Poverty Dynamics (with Jeffrey Bloem)

Survey Imperfections and Empirical Detection of Poverty Traps (with Jeffrey Bloem and Michael Carter)

Medicaid Expansion and Evictions (with Ao Cheng)

Legalization of Sports Gambling and Personal Bankruptcies (with Ao Cheng)