Research

“Shifting Landscapes: The Impact of Agricultural Innovation on Deforestation” [new draft coming soon]

Abstract: This paper examines the effect of a new agricultural technology, namely genetically modified (GM) seeds, on deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. Our empirical strategy leverages the heterogeneous effects that the introduction of GM soybean seeds had on agricultural productivity across areas based on soil and weather characteristics, and satellite data on land use. We find that the introduction of GM soy contributed to 7.4% of the total deforested area in the Brazilian Amazon between 2003 and 2010. We show that increases in soy productivity lead to changes in the local composition of land use as soy replaces existing activities, namely pastures for cattle grazing. This leads to a decrease in deforestation because soy cultivation is less land-intensive than cattle grazing. However, we also examine whether the reallocation of pastures elsewhere leads to deforestation. We find that pastures are displaced to areas connected by the road network, thereby causing deforestation.

“Excluded Women: The Fall of Female Labor Force Participation in Post-Industrial Revolution England” with Laura Murphy and Myera Rashid

Abstract: We study women’s labor market participation in England between 1851 and 1911 using newly digitized census microdata. We document three novel facts. First, women’s labor force participation rate slightly decreased between 1851 and 1911, driven by a 40% decrease among married women. Secondly, examining synthetic cohorts reveals that the drop in married women’s labor force participation is driven by younger cohorts choosing not to join the workforce, rather than older cohorts exiting at increasing rates. Lastly, we observe that women were predominantly employed in the textile and domestic service sectors. Our theoretical model suggests that increasing societal barriers may have influenced married women’s labor market engagement over time.

“Deforestation in the Congo Basin” with Ameet Morjaria and Devis Decet

"State Capacity and Environmental Protection" with Devis Decet