About me

My name is Megan Haasbroek and I am a PhD candidate in Economics at Erasmus University Rotterdam and Tinbergen Institute under the supervision of prof. dr. Maarten Bosker and dr. Sacha Kapoor. I hold a Research Master in Macroeconomics and International Economics from the Tinbergen Institute. 

I am an economist with primary research interests in international trade, economic geography and development economics. I make use of administrative datasets and hand-collected archival data on policy implementation to study the consequences of trade or industrial policy in developing countries. I then use this reduced-form evidence to model, and thereby achieve a deeper understanding of, firm behaviour in frictional contexts.

My job market paper provides novel evidence on the impact of eminent domain on industrial composition in the context of Indian Special Economic Zones (SEZs). I leverage an unexpected policy reform that restricted the use of eminent domain for these zones, combined with information on state-specific expropriation policies in a difference-in-differences design. Using a unique dataset on the universe of SEZ proposals, I show that both intentions to enter and actual entry decreases for more land-intensive (manufacturing) sectors. On the other hand, I show that the post-reform zones generate more local employment than their older counterparts; suggesting that this reform generated not a reduction, but merely a concentration of industrialisation.

I will join the Janeway Institute at the University of Cambridge as a postdoc in August 2024.

On this site, you can find out more about my research and my teaching experience, view my academic CV or contact me.