Papers/Research

Publications by field of study:

Economic History:


Models of Segregation/Social Structures/Evolutionary Games:


History of Economic Thought/Macroeconomics:

Happiness Studies:

Undergoing Projects:

1.  Migration, Occupational Choice and the Legacy of Animal Husbandry in the Pampas [With Federico Droller & Lucas Llach] PDF SOON

The Age of Mass Migration brought thousand of migrants every year to Argentina. Coming mostly from south--European countries, migrants settled and joined the labor market across counties in the fertile plains of the Pampas. In this article, we show two pieces of evidence, first we show that prior to the arrival of immigrants, land was already used for productive activities, ranching or agriculture being the main uses of land. Persistence in the use of land created differential labor opportunities in each county, and thus constrained the arrival and settlement of immigrants. In turn, immigrants' sorted themselves into different counties, taking advantage of their human capital, knowledge or skills and the labor opportunities. We argue the initial use of land and the allocation of human capital across the fertile plains had a profound effect over the short run occupational choice at the local level.

2. A Railway Junction in the Americas: Factor Endowments, Transport Costs and Divergence In the primary producing regions of the New World, 1850-1914 [With Lucas Llach] 

The nineteenth century accounts for most of the divergence in per capita GDP in the Americas. Between around mid - century and 1914, some regions in the Americas , but not others, experienced outstanding rates of growth. Previous literature has stressed either colonial origins, terms of trade or institutional factors to explain the differential economic performance across the continent. We argue that the shock of the Transport Revolution – in particular, railways – was asymmetric and depended on the type of exports . Using data for the primary producing regions in the Americas, covering around 90 % of the continent's population, we show that economic performance was correlated to product bulkiness : regions exporting heavier products (as measured b y weight per unit of value ) took more advantage of the technological shock because the decline in transports was large r there. Regions specialized in mining or the high value/weight cash crops typical of the old colonial trade didn't benefit from the transport revolution and lagged behind the American Midwest, the Canadian prairies or the Argentine Pampas, where exports and per capita GDP were highest in the continent on the eve of World War I.

Ensayos, Notas y Conferencias/ Essays, Notes and Conference Papers 

¬ To Win or to Profit: How Rivalry Affects Payoff Decisions in Interdependent Situations  [With Jeff Thomas]  [Available at SSRN] 

¬ Prospect Insecurity: The Asymmetric Effect of Subjetive Insecurity on Neighborhood Quality of Life  Joint with Martin Tetaz Prepared for The International Forum of Well-Being of Life & Development Policy in Guadalajara Mexico (October 2014). Here you will find a version in Spanish published in a chapter book of the book-conference: El bienestar subjetivo en América Latina

¬ Inconsistent Expectations and Economic Crises  Joint with Daniel Heymann and Ricardo Crespo and prepared for CIECE & Filosofía de la Economia (2013)

¬ Una evaluación de la crisis Europea: Europa en su laberinto [SPANISH] Junto a José Luis Machinea en Palermo Business Review (2011) Nota: Se pueden encontrar versiones más resumidas de este trabajo en La solución Argentina publicado en el blog  Nada es Gratis (Mayo 2012) y en La crisis Europea blog Colectivo Económico (Julio 2011).

¬ ¿Es la deflación la cura Europea? [SPANISH] prepared for Alquimias Económicas (Noviembre 2014)

¬ A Theory of Kinked Demand Curve: Dynamic Game Theory and Price Rigidity  Anales de la Asociación Argentina de Economía Política (November 2010)