Working Papers:


*Winner of the 2022 Research Award by the Embassy of Italy in UK and the Association of Italian Scientists in UK for innovative research in the field of Social Sciences. 


Abstract. This paper explores the environmental consequences of illegal drug production, specifically focusing on the impact of coca prices and cultivation on tree cover density in Peru. Using satellite imagery and granular data on the economic value of coca cultivation, I show that fluctuations in coca profitability significantly drive deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon. My findings show that the 40% increase in coca prices observed during the study period led to an estimated loss of 6,450 km² of tree cover - about eight times the land area of New York City. Additionally, I provide suggestive evidence of a technological revolution — marked by the widespread use of agrochemicals — that has expanded the coca cultivation frontier to remote areas of the Amazon, transforming it into a diffuse source of environmental degradation. This shift has enabled illegal coca farming in previously unsuitable strategic locations. The technological advancements, increasing productivity of forest-derived land uses, presented Narcos with fresh economic opportunities for environmental crimes.



Abstract. This paper examines the impact of environmental regulation on crop-residue burning, air pollution, and health in Northern India. Exploiting a spatial regression discontinuity at the Punjab–Haryana border and satellite data from 2012–2023, I show that Haryana’s implementation of crop-residue burning regulation reduced rice-season fires by about one-third and increased the probability that a location is fire-free by roughly 80% relative to adjacent Punjab. Conditioning PM2.5 on local wind regimes, the induced fall in burning lowers burning-season PM2.5 on the Haryana side by roughly 9 µg/m3 , about a 10% reduction relative to the local counterfactual just across the border. Applying standard concentration–response functions to the resulting exposure change implies approximately 1,600–2,100 avoided premature deaths per year, of which about one in seven deaths averted occurs among under-five children. The results show that subnational regulatory action can reduce burning, pollution, and mortality even when externalities cross jurisdictional boundaries.



Abstract. This paper investigates whether societies adapt to climate shocks by modifying land use over time. I develop a hydrometeorological framework that links extreme precipitation to flooding via antecedent moisture and drainage capacity, and use it to interpret reduced-form effects of extreme-precipitation years on land-use shares and local economic activity. Focusing on India from 2001 to 2010, I combine district-year satellite data with a difference-in-differences event-study design that traces outcomes up to five years after a shock and constructs model-implied cumulative effects under repeated exposure. I find no statistically discernible medium-run changes in cropland, forest cover, built-up shares, or night-time light intensity following extreme-precipitation years. When averaging over the first four post-shock years, I can rule out shifts larger than about 0.1 residual standard deviations of within-district variation over time in cropland, built-up areas, and night-time lights. Overall, these findings indicate rigid spatial adaptation in one of the world’s most climate-exposed settings.



*Funded by J-PAL with Community Jameel - (Air and Water Labs). 



Policy Paper: 

Pre-Doc

Prior to joining QMUL, I have been full-time Research Officer for Joachim Voth and Bruno Caprettini at the University of Zurich.  Here, I worked on a diverse set of projects in the fields of Labor, Political Economy and Economic History, spanning all phases of the research process. 

A few papers I worked on: