Publications
"Rethinking the Lebanese Economic Miracle: The Extreme Concentration of Income and Wealth in Lebanon, 2005-2014", Journal of Development Economics , 2023, Vol. 61, 103003 [WP version]
"Measuring Inequality in the Middle East, 1990-2016: The World's Most Unequal Region?", with Facundo Alvaredo and Thomas Piketty, Review of Income and Wealth, 2019, vol. 65, p.685-711 [WP version]
"Extreme Inequality: Evidence from Brazil, India, the Middle-East and South Africa", with Lucas Chancel and Marc Morgan, American Economic Association: Papers & Proceedings, 2018, vol. 108, p. 119-123 [WP version]
Book Chapters
"Charismatic Leaders and Nation-Building: The Case of Mustafa Kemal “Atatürk”", Prepared for Successful Nation-Building, CEPR/VOXEU E-book, edited by D. Rohner and E. Zhuravskaya.
“Political Cleavages and Social Inequalities in Algeria, Iraq, and Turkey, 1990-2019” with Amory Gethin, Thomas Piketty, Juliet-Nil Uraz, in Political Cleavages and Social Inequalities. A Study of 50 Democracies, 1950-2020, edited by Amory Gethin, Clara Martinez-Toledano, and Thomas Piketty, Harvard University Press, 2021
“Measuring lnequality in the Middle East” with Facundo Alvaredo and Thomas Piketty, in the Routledge Handbook on the Middle East Economy, edited by Hassan Hakimian, 2021
Working papers
"Leadership and Nation-Building" (Job Market Paper) [New draft coming soon!]
Abstract: This paper investigates the role of individual leaders in nation-building. I study the activities and legacy of Mustafa Kemal “Atatürk’”, the founder of modern Turkey. I created a novel historical database containing information on the locations and dates of Atatürk’s propaganda visits to over a quarter of Turkish cities between 1923 and 1938. Using variation over time and across space, and information on incidental visits to districts lying along Atatürk's road, I find that Atatürk’s visits caused an increase of 10 percent in the use of first names in “Pure Turkish”, the new language introduced by the state as part of its homogenizing endeavor. I argue that this measure indicates a successful adoption of a nation-building reform locally. The effect is persistent, growing in magnitude up until fifteen years after the visit before disappearing. Two main channels can explain this pattern of propagation. First, the visits provided the ground for institutional reforms, as they led to the formation of local branches of Atatürk’s party. Second, the effect is stronger in districts with more nationalistic associations, higher literacy rates, and where Atatürk met with local elites, suggesting that co-optation of the elite is a key driver of the effect. My findings provide new evidence on the ability of an individual leader to construct a national identity, by rallying the elite and by fostering institution building, which in turn contribute to influencing people more broadly.
"Political Cleavages and Social Inequalities in Algeria, Iraq, and Turkey, 1990-2019", with Amory Gethin, Thomas Piketty, and Juliet-Nil Uraz. 2021. ffhalshs-03215898f
Abstract : This paper draws on political attitudes surveys to document the evolution of political cleavages in light of inequality dynamics in Algeria (2002-2018), Iraq (2005-2018), and Turkey (1991-2018). We investigate how social divides and ethno-religious conflicts shape voting behaviors in these three countries through their interaction with the voting system and the structure of inequalities. Our findings suggest that identity-based voting remains highly interconnected with social disparities and does not offer extensive explanatory power on its own, except in the extreme case of the Iraqi sectarian political system. Socioeconomic factors play a differentiated role depending on the historical and institutional context and have increasingly been at the heart of popular mobilizations outside of the electoral arena.
Work in progress
Perceived Inequality Across Ethno-Religious Groups: Experimental Evidence from Lebanon, with Augustin Bergeron, Giulia Buccione and Salma Mousa [funded by: AFD, ASREC, J-PAL GI]
Diversity, Integration, and Business Productivity, with Onur Altindag and Ceren Baysan [funded by: IPA, J-PAL DLI]
The Socio-Economic Impact of Water Scarcity: Evidence from Jordan, with Giulia Buccione and Emma Smith [funded by: LEAP, LSE Hub for Equal Representation, IGC, JPAL-LAI]
Policy Papers, Opinion Pieces and Briefs
La question des inégalités, grande absente des législatives libanaises ? L'Orient le jour, 2018
Austerity Is Not the Answer, Carnegie Middle East Center, 2019
Mass Protests Have Taken Place in Lebanon Against the Political Class and Its Economic Policies, Carnegie Middle East Center, 2019
L’économie rentière du Liban a engendré des niveaux d’inégalité extrêmes, Le Monde
The Ravages of Inequality, Carnegie Middle East Center, 2019
Inequality and Its Discontents in the Middle East, Carnegie Middle East Center, 2019
Lebanon’s Political Economy: From Predatory to Self-Devouring, Carnegie Middle East Center, 2019