Research

Abstract: This paper examines how access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has influenced low-income families' health and economic outcomes in the modern era. Exploiting state-level expansions under Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility (BBCE)—one of the largest SNAP reforms since the 2000s—I use a difference-in-differences design with multiple large-scale data sources on program usage and population health. The expansion increased SNAP participation and generated spillovers to Medicaid and WIC enrollment. With greater available resources, I find improvements in food insecurity and health care utilization. Short-term health gains are modest overall but more pronounced among non-Whites, including declines in low birth weight and obesity. Notably, there are no significant effects on employment status, with only a slight reduction in hours worked. These findings underscore the role of benefit transfers in supporting long-term health investments and reducing racial disparities, with a substantially reduced concern for moral hazard in recent decades.

• presented at 2025 All-California Labor Economics Conference (ACLEC), 2025 World Congress of the Econometric Society (ESWC), Yonsei University, 2025 ASHEcon, UCSD Applied/Development Workshop

Abstract: This paper studies why safety net programs may have limited effects in mitigating economic hardship among mixed-status households. I analyze the program participation responses of Hispanic citizens living with undocumented immigrants following the enactment of E-Verify mandates, an employment-based immigration enforcement policy targeting undocumented immigrants. Using a difference-in-differences framework, I find that E-Verify mandates reduced household income by 5.4%. Participation responses vary across programs: Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). While SSI participation temporarily increased and SNAP participation remained stable, Medicaid participation dropped by 8.3 percentage points. The decline in Medicaid participation is more pronounced in states with higher deportation risk, indicating that chilling effects limit program take-up.

• awarded UCSD Economics Department Diversity Research Fellowship 2023-24

• presented at 2024 ASHEcon, 2024 WEAI, 2023 SEA, 2023 All-California Labor Economics Conference (ACLEC) (poster), UCSD Applied/Development Workshop

Abstract: A fundamental question in public economics concerns the desirability of providing government services directly versus contracting them out. Using a difference-in-differences design, we study the transition of Mississippi’s Women, Infants, and Children program from state-run warehouses to retail-based food distribution. Retail distribution reduced participation by 12–14%, with larger declines among children and disadvantaged groups, while lowering per-participant costs by 32% through warehouse elimination. Higher retail prices were offset by lower redemption rates. Evidence suggests increased shopping burden, rather than other take-up frictions, drove the decline in participation. The findings underscore trade-offs in privatizing benefit delivery while preserving service quality and access. 

• presented at 2025 ASHEcon, 2024 SEA, 2024 All-California Labor Economics Conference (ACLEC) (poster); 2025 NBER Summer Institute (Children and Families)*, 2025 WEAI*, UC Irvine*, UC Riverside*, UC San Diego*

Abstract: We develop a dynamic search-and-matching model where firms can tilt their vacancy postings toward groups of workers whose observable traits are correlated with productivity relevant unobserved types. Applied to U.S. low-skilled labor markets, the model shows that firms disproportionately post vacancies toward Hispanic workers, who are more likely to be undocumented and to have a lower outside option. Motivated by E-Verify mandates, we study the effects of immigration enforcement requiring firms to verify worker eligibility. Enforcement leads firms to redirect search away from Hispanics and reduce overall job creation, worsening labor market conditions for both undocumented and native-born workers.

• presented at 2022 Summer School on the Economics of Migration, 2022 All-California Labor Economics Conference (poster); 2024 SEA*, 2024 WEAI*, NYU Macro Workshop*, NYU Applied Micro Workshop*