Research

I (try to) do Development Economics 

[CV] [CV of Failures]  [contact: raimundo.undurraga@dii.uchile.cl]    

2024-2025 Conferences (accepted papers & invitations): UAH (Aug. 28th, 2025); NBER SI Urban Economics (July 24-25, 2025); NBER SI Economics of Crime (July 24-25, 2025); European Workshop on the Macroeconomic Implications of Migration (Madrid, June 25-26, 2025); RIDGE (Lima, May 12-13th, 2025); Humans LACEA (ITAM, April 10-11th, 2025); IDB (DC, April 8th, 2025); Berkeley-Econ (Jan 28th, 2025); Berkeley-ARE (Jan 17th, 2025); M-NEW (Stgo., Dec 16-17, 2024); PUC Chile Econ (Stgo, Nov 20, 2024); FEN U. Chile Econ. (Stgo., Sept 13, 2024); Advances with Field Experiments (LSE, Sept 5-6, 2024); EG PUC Chile (Stgo., July 2, 2024); BSE Summer Forum (Barcelona, June 10, 2024); UDP (Stgo., June 6, 2024); DII-U.Chile (Stgo, April 15, 2024); Cities & Development Workshop (JHU, April 26, 2024); HUMANS LACEA Network Meeting (World Bank, DC., March 14-15, 2024); Urbanization & Poverty Reduction Research Conference (World Bank, DC., March 7-8, 2024); MIPP-LM2C2-MIGRA Workshop on Immigration and Labor (Stgo., Jan 24, 2024);  SAET (Stgo., Jan 8-10, 2024)

Working Papers

"School Re-enrollment and Crime Prevention: The Role of Centralized Dropout Monitoring Systems", with Manuel Alcaíno 

Media Coverage: [La Tercera]

"Immigration and Slums",  with Marco Gonzalez-Navarro 

Media Coverage: [El Mostrador] [El Mercurio]

"How Managers Can Use Purchaser Performance Information to Improve Procurement Efficiency", with P. Celhay, P. Gertler, and M. Olivares. NBER Working Paper No. 32141 [Prediction from Experts]

"Housing Externalities in Poor Neighborhoods"  (R&R)

Publications and Forthcoming Papers

"Bad Taste: Gender Discrimination in Consumer Lending", (with A. Montoya and E. Parrado) 

Journal of Political Economy: Microeconomics  (forthcoming)

"Immigration, Crime, and Crime (Mis)Perceptions" (with N. Ajzenman and P. Domínguez)

American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, Vol. 15, No. 4, October 2023, pp. 142-76 

"Immigration and Labor Market (Mis)Perceptions" (with N. Ajzenman and P. Domínguez)

American Economic Association Papers & Proceedings, Vol. 112, May 2022, pp. 402-08

"Location Preferences and Slums Formation: Evidence from a Panel of Residence Histories"  (with P. Celhay)

Regional Science and Urban Economics, Vol. 97, Nov. 2022

 “Aspiration Adaptation in Resource-Constrained Environments" (with S. Galiani and P. Gertler) 

Journal of Urban Economics, Vol. 123, May 2021 

 “The Half Life of Happiness: Hedonic Adaptation in the Subjective Well-being of Poor Slum Dwellers to a Large Improvement in Housing" (with S. Galiani and P. Gertler)

Journal of the European Economic Association, Vol. 16, Issue 4, Aug. 2018, pp. 1189–1233 

 “Shelter from the Storm: Upgrading Housing Infrastructure in Latin American Slums" (with S. Galiani, P. Gertler, R.Cooper, S.Martinez, and A.Ross)

Journal of Urban Economics, Vol 98, March 2017, pp. 187-213 

In Progress

"Aspirations and Conflict: The Role of Integration Policies", with Sofía Correa 

"In-situ Upgrading or Population Relocation? Direct Impacts and Spatial Spillovers of Slum Housing Policies",  with Marco Gonzalez-Navarro, Paul J. Gertler, and Joaquín Urrego  

"Information Frictions in Mortgage Refinancing", with Vivek Bhattacharya, Ignacio Cuesta, Gastón Illanes, and Anita Montoya [Pre-Analysis Plan]

"Economic and Financial Impacts of COVID-19 and Stimulus Packages on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Latin America", with Paul J. Gertler, Sean Higgins, Anita Montoya and Eric Parrado  [Pre-Analysis Plan]

Dormant: 

“Inequality, Mobility, and Polarization", with Joan Esteban, Debraj Ray, and Eugenio Rojas

"Happiness Economics and Public Policy: A Contemporary Introduction" joint with Cristian Larroulet Philippi