On-going research (2024/2026):
(For old entries see Research 2018/2020; Research 2020/2022; Research 2022/2024)
*My current research receives funding from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (grants: PID 2019-104723RB-100, PID2020-118800GB-100 and PID2022-136482OB-I00).
I. Socio-economic consequences of climate change
1. “Global warming and spatial disparities”
Complementing previous research on (inter-personal) inequalities, I am exploring how rising temperatures can affect the spatial distribution of economic activity, and by doing so, alter spatial inequalities. I am doing so by building measures of spatial inequality at country level for a global sample of countries, as well as exploring subnational inequalities and inequalities within cities. All relying on several data sources and methodological techniques.
2. “Climate change, multidimensional poverty and economic inequality”*
With Manisha Mukherjee (Maastricht University) and Nicolai Suppa (University of Barcelona), we are studying the connection between climate change, multidimensional poverty and economic inequality. To do so, we rely on global gridded climatic data, aggregated at different spatial levels. We will match this with multidimensional poverty data, at the country and subnational level. We will also rely on micro-level data from India, to explore in more depth the connection between climatic variables, poverty and distributional dynamics at very disaggregated level of analysis.
*Funded by UNU-World Institute for Development Economics Research (WIDER)
II. Global cities and regions
3. “Bright and green? A global view on density and the trade-off between economic activity and green spaces for over 1000 cities”
With Konstantin Reisner and Melanie Krause (both from Leipzig University), we are studying urban land use tradeoffs in large cities worldwide. In particular, we analyse the coevolution of population density, urban green spaces, built-up area and volume, and economic activity (proxied by nighttime lights). We do so by looking at a global sample of >1000 cities with information over the last decades, and relying on detailed data from several sources, including remote sensing.
4. “Within-city inequalities and unequal access to urban amenities”
With my colleagues at Leipzig University (Melanie and Konstantin) we are currently studying inequalities within cities and unequal access to urban amenities like green spaces. We are doing this for hundreds of cities worldwide over the last decades and relying on several data sources. Our aim is to understand how cities grow, and when they do, how this affects social cohesion and equal access to amenities.
5. "The geography of energy transitions: a network approach for post-Fukushima Japan"
With Alvaro Dominguez, at the Asian Growth Research Institute, and Felipe Santos-Marquez, at Technische Universität Dresden, we study the spatial spread of energy transitions from nuclear to wind sources in post-Fukushima Japan. We do so relying on detailed data on nuclear plants and wind farms, and implementing panel data econometric techniques (including a difference-in-difference specification) and network analysis.
6. "Air pollution and mortality: evidence from European regions and cities"
With Alessia Cassamasima (from EUI) and Enza Simeone (from Turin University), we are exploring the connection between exposure to air pollution and early mortality. We are doing this by putting together a rich data set for European regions and cities, with information over the last years. We are also analysing the potential impact of “smart city projects” in reducing air pollution, and thus improving health outcomes and reducing mortality.
7. "Energy price shock and income inequality: evidence from the US"
With Soran Mohtadi (from George Washington University), we have already studied the distributional impact of commodity price shocks, taking a global view. We are now studying the distributional impact of changes in energy prices, driven by international price shock in oil and gas, in US regions over the last decades.
III. Sport and development
8. "Club-football performance and economic dynamism: A regional analysis for Europe"
With Roberto Gasquez, from UB, we look at the potential connection between sporting success and economic development. We focus on club football performance and economic dynamism in European regions. To do so, we build a unique dataset with information for 395 football clubs, matched with economic information for 295 NUTS3 European regions, for the 2000-2020 period.