Research

-Fuel Prices, Gang Violence, and Its Effects on Children’s Health: Evidence from Mexico (Job Market paper- previous  version is titled “Effects of violent conflict on health: Evidence from Mexico’s fuel theft epidemic”)- Winner of the AIES Best Paper Award 2024

[Abstract] Amidst the ``war against drugs", Mexico has witnessed staggering homicide rates and missing individuals. 

Organised crime's strategic use of homicidal violence to control illicit markets has driven extractive conflict for resources like fuel. The physiological distress induced by this security crisis and its attendant consequences have been overlooked. I investigate the impact of prenatal exposure to violence, hence stress, through the clandestine tapping of oil pipelines, known as "Huachicol." Using quasi-exogenous variation from the pipeline network's geography and a significant fuel price hike in January 2017, I analyse administrative and pipeline data to elucidate the effects of extractive conflict on prenatal and health outcomes.

I find a 29%-34% increase in homicides in areas with pipelines following the price increase with no deterioration in prenatal health indicators—such as birth weight or gestational age—nor increases in miscarriages or stillbirths. Moreover, infant and child mortality among boys declined by 5–6%. These results suggest behavioral adaptation to persistent violence and potential income effects linked to participation in illicit markets. Both mechanisms were examined, with strong evidence found through stress-related hospital discharges among women and nightlight data used as a proxy for income.

-Presented at: GSSI-Sapienza workshop (L'Aquila, 2024), First PhD Workshop on Microeconomics (Essen, 2024), Gender and Economics 3rd Workshop (Luxembourg, 2024), 2nd CINCH-dggö Academy (Essen, 2024), EuHEA PhD & Supervisor Conference (Luzerne, 2024), AIES-Italian Health Economics Association Conference (Naples, 2024), SEHO (Zaragoza, 2025)