Research

Abstract: How should zoning policy protect children from local disamenities? I answer this question using minimum-distance buffers between cannabis retailers and schools in Los Angeles, combining hyperlocal reduced-form evidence with a spatial entry model. Linking administrative data on 600,000 LAUSD students to geocoded retailer openings, I estimate event-study designs with student and zipcode-by-semester fixed effects. Retailer openings near schools increase drug-related suspensions and reduce GPA, with effects concentrated within 0.5 miles; these effects nearly double after California’s 2017 recreational legalization and are amplified in high-suspension peer environments. To capture displacement toward students’ homes under tighter school buffers, I further estimate neighborhood exposure effects, which are concentrated within 0.3 miles and roughly half as large. Long-run estimates show school exposure reduces high school graduation by 1.2 pp and college enrollment by 1.0 pp; neighborhood exposure reduces these by 0.4 and 0.5 pp. Embedding these estimates in a spatial location-choice model, I evaluate policies by net human-capital gains minus foregone tax revenue. The welfare-maximizing buffer is 0.5 miles, yielding $251.0M in human-capital gains and $112.7M in net welfare over the current 600-feet rule. A Pigouvian tax calibrated to the estimated externality generates $210.5M in net welfare while preserving greater fiscal revenue.

Conference: 1st Human Capital Conference (TSE, scheduled); Southern Economic Association (SEA, scheduled)

Abstract: We provide the first causal estimates of immigration enforcement's community-wide costs, using geocoded ICE records and foot traffic data across six states from 2025--2026. Visits within 0.5 miles of 10,018 enforcement events decline 1.69 percent with no rebound; comparable declines under both contact and non-contact operations indicate ambient deterrence rather than direct confrontation as the primary mechanism. Disruption varies by destination type: education facilities see the sharpest decline, workplaces and commercial venues also contract, and healthcare is unaffected. Effects are largest where enforcement recently reached previously off-limits education and healthcare settings. Residential mobility falls broadly: unique visitors from Hispanic CBGs decline 1.57 percent, and a neighborhood-level analysis finds total outside trips fall 7.45 percent---non-Hispanic neighborhoods recover within four weeks while Hispanic areas show persistent suppression, and geographic substitution is absent. Translating these declines into dollar terms, per-establishment costs total \$196,527---over 11 times the DHS benchmark. A structural model finds restoring sensitive-location protections recovers 50.4 percent of welfare losses, versus 18.3 percent for non-contact enforcement.

Conference: Economics of Race, Racism, and Structural Inequality (Duke University, scheduled)

Abstract: We investigate how targeted groups react politically to racially motivated hate crimes within their communities. Combining incident-level administrative data on hate crimes in Los Angeles County from 2014 to 2022 with individual voter files, we exploit the hyperlocal variation in the geography and timing of these crimes. We find that serious anti-Hispanic hate crimes increase voter turnout among nearby Hispanics by 1.6 percentage points compared to nearby Whites. Communities with dense Hispanic populations and Hispanic advocacy and community service organizations are primarily responsible for this mobilization effect. Moreover, we demonstrate that hate crimes are associated with shifts in voters' policy preferences, particularly in the areas of crime prevention and affirmative action. Despite this, we do not find any significant differences in political participation among Black and Asian American communities following anti-Black and anti-Asian hate crimes, respectively. Los Angeles County's large Hispanic population and extensive network of community organizations may play an important role in fostering mobilization.