Research

Examines how soil salinization affects household welfare in India, combining household panel data with satellite-based salinity maps. Rising salinity is associated with lower crop income and reduced educational attainment, particularly among girls, while labor participation responses remain limited. Consumption patterns suggest a potential buffering role for government support programs. The findings highlight how gradual soil degradation can affect both current livelihoods and human capital accumulation.

We examine whether rising temperatures contribute to the growth of informal settlements in developing countries. Using a country-year panel, we study how temperature shocks affect agricultural outcomes, urbanization, and the share of people living in informal housing. We use a simple theoretical model to interpret these patterns, exploring how heat-induced agricultural distress may encourage rural–urban migration and expand informal settlements when formal housing supply is constrained.

We examine how earthquakes affect child marriage in rural Indonesia, combining longitudinal household data with detailed measures of earthquake intensity. Exploiting variation in earthquake location and timing, we find that girls exposed to high-intensity earthquakes between ages 12 and 17 are more likely to marry in the same year.