Research

My research focuses on development economics, labor, health, and gender. I use experimental and quasi-experimental methods to study barriers to economic development and equity and the effectiveness of policies to address them.  

Publications

1. COVID-19, Job Loss, and Intimate Partner Violence in Peru (with Jorge M. Agüero, Erica Field, and Ignacio Rodriguez Hurtado). 2023, forthcoming at Economic Development and Cultural Change.

2. Is Remote Sensing Data Useful for Studying the Association between Pandemic-Related Changes in Economic Activity and Intimate Partner Violence? (with Jorge M. Agüero, Erica Field, and Ignacio Rodriguez Hurtado). AEA Papers and Proceedings, 112: 1-5. 2022. 

3. Is Community-Based Targeting Effective in Identifying Intimate Partner Violence? (with Jorge M. Agüero, Úrsula Aldana, Erica Field, and Veronica Frisancho). AEA Papers and Proceedings, 110: 605-09. 2020. 

Working Papers

1. Commodity Price Shocks and Child Mortality: Evidence from Anti-Coca Policies in Peru (with Jose Martinez Carrasco). Working Paper. 2023. Submitted

2. Investing in Digital Technologies to Improve Market Access for Women Agri-Preneurs: Experimental Evidence from Guatemala (with Angela R. Lopez and Viviana M.E. Perego). Working Paper. 2023. 

3. Privacy and Measurement Error in Phone Surveys: The Case of Women’s Agency (with  Jorge M. Agüero and Viviana Perego). Working Paper. 2023. 

Work in Progress

1. Measurement Error in Self-Reported Data and Solutions: The Case of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women (with Jorge M. Agüero, Ursula Aldana, Erica Field, and Veronica Frisancho). Status: draft available upon request.

Abstract: We conduct a survey experiment to estimate measurement error in sensitive self-reported data. We focus on intimate partner violence and compare a widely used set of direct questions against two alternatives providing either more privacy or full anonymity. We find that more privacy systematically leads to higher reports of violence and avoids the costs of the full anonymity method. Using a natural experiment combined with our survey, we show that allowing for more privacy also uncovers impact evaluation effects not observed when violence is asked under direct questions.

2. Training Local Leaders to Prevent and Reduce Intimate Partner Violence Against Women: Experimental Evidence from Peru (with Ursula Aldana, Erica Field, and Livia Schubiger ). Status: intervention on the field. [IPA’s evaluation profile]. 

Abstract: Despite the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) and its long-term welfare consequences, there is scarce rigorous evidence on interventions that aim to reduce it. Leaders in Action (LIA), the flagship program of the Peruvian Ministry of Women (MIMP), is a large-scale intervention aimed at changing social norms around IPV in rural areas. The program trains local leaders to work in their communities to prevent and reduce IPV. We conduct a randomized evaluation to assess the impact of two alternative, theory-driven approaches to delivering this program: a household-based intervention (HT) that provides door-to-door training sessions and a group-based intervention (GT). The GT integrates an edutainment approach, a communication strategy that works through media to promote a better context for behavior change than delivering information alone.

3. A Text Messaging Intervention for Stress and Anger Management During the COVID-19 Pandemic (with Erica Field and Daniel Hurtado). Status: drafting. 

Abstract: The stress and social isolation associated with the COVID-19 pandemic had a large negative impact on mental health outcomes and domestic violence in many settings. During the peak of the pandemic, we ran a field experiment in Peru to improve emotional regulation and reduce violent responses to stress through a text message (SMS) campaign delivered to men in romantic partnerships. The resulting improvement in mental health outcomes and reductions in reported aggressive behaviors indicates that such light-touch interventions can be effective and low-cost tools to reduce depressive symptoms in men and improve stress control. Male perpetrators of violence experienced the greatest improvements in anger management and mental health. The intervention was highly cost-effective: we calculate an economic benefit of improvement in mental health of approximately $220 million compared to a program cost of $25 million. Our results highlight the potential for scalable mental health campaigns to reach high-risk populations in middle-income countries where levels of intimate partner violence and risk factors for emotional dysregulation (economic shocks) are high, but phone penetration is near-universal.

Other Working Papers

1. Do Schools Prompt Terrorist Attacks? Evidence from Peru using Spatial Econometrics (with Andrea Salazar). 2013 Luca D'Agliano award for best paper.

2. Informal Risk-Sharing and Poverty Persistence (with Cesar Calvo). CSAE Working Paper Series 2009-19.