DISSERTATION

Three essays in the economics of education [Proquest Link]

JOB MARKET PAPER

• “The Wage Dynamics in U.S. STEM: The Role of Immigration Status and Policy” [Link] 

PUBLICATIONS

• Alvi, E., and M. O. Islam. (2026). “ Migration and Education Choices: How Low-Skilled Migration Shapes the Educational Attainment of Mexican Youth.” International Migration 64, no. 6: e70227. https://doi.org/10.1111/imig.70227. 

• Islam, M. O., and Ghorai, M. (2024). “The impact of water quality on children’s education: evidence from 39 districts in the Ganges Basin of India.” Environment and Development Economics, 29(5), 359–378. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355770X24000123  

• Islam, M. O. (2015). “The relation between military expenditure and economic growth in developing countries: evidence from a panel of 41 developing countries.” IOSR Journal of Economics and Finance, 6(4), 57–65. https://tinyurl.com/33be7emj

WORKING PAPERS

• Ghorai, M., and Islam, M. O. “Who gets maternal postnatal care? Machine-learning insights from India’s NFHS-5.” http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.7433860

• Islam, M. O., and Ghorai, M. “Heterogeneous impact of the 2015 Nepal earthquake on preterm birth.” https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5345999

• Islam, M. O. “Wage dynamics of foreign-born workers: Immigration status, mobility, and policy.” Presented at the Midwestern Economics Association Annual Meeting, 2024. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.16280.56323

• Islam, M. O. “Heterogeneous impact of teacher-student demographic mismatch on science-math achievement.” Revised and resubmitted to Journal of Applied Economics, August 26, 2026. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.27605.18403

ARTICLES

[Data Science in a World of Chaos] 5 Crucial Facts the Data Says about the COVID-19 Crisis in India [Link], 

Reading India from Space: Mapping Heat, Vegetation, and Monsoon Rainfall with Satellite Data [Link], 

Alternatives to Heckman Bias Correction in Wage and Mincer-Type Models [Link]

[Geek Culture] How to Create Non-linear Measures of Temperature [Link]

[GlobalDev] The hidden cost of pollution on children’s education in India [Link]

 WORKS IN PROGRESS

• "Land Rights and Labor Mobility: The Impact of Ejido Reform in Mexico on Migration" with M. Ghorai

• “The Role of Parents' STEM Occupation in Children's STEM Major Choice” with J. Kimmel

• "Temperature Shocks and Health Outcomes in Bangladesh" with M. Ghorai

• "Predicting Minority STEM Attrition: Leveraging Machine Learning for Retention Policy-making" with M. Ghorai