Research Interests:
Development Economics, Migration Economics, Public Finance, Labor Economics, Political Economy and Applied Econometrics.
Job Market Paper:
“Balancing the books: Immigration and local finances in France,” February 2026, LEM Discussion Paper, N°2026-01, Lille Economie Management (LEM).
This paper studies the effect of immigration on local public finances in France, combining population census data with municipal budget accounts over the period 2007–2017. To address the endogeneity of immigrants’ location choices, I use an instrumental variables strategy based on historical settlement patterns by skill and nationality groups. The results show that immigration has a positive effect on per capita operating net revenues, as well as on both operating revenues and expenditures. Over the period under study, the immigrant share increased on average by 1.38 percentage points, from 8.63% to 10.00%, implying an estimated increase of 2.53% in total operating revenues per capita and 2.45% in total operating expenditures per capita. Immigration is also associated with higher investment activity. Overall, municipalities are able to maintain budgetary balance. Although migration is associated with higher debt levels, improvements in liquidity and self-financing capacity suggest that migration contributes to an expansion of local fiscal capacity.
Peer-Reviewed Journals:
“Fractures nationales : Retrait des services publics et dynamiques électorales,” with Étienne Farvaque and Jan Fidrmuc, Revue française d'économie, 2025, (1), pp. 213-252.
Populist parties made spectacular gains between 2002 and 2022. While multiple factors can explain this, the deterioration or disappearance of public services in many rural or peripheral areas plays a significant role. This is shown by a study analyzing the relationship between the disappearance of public services and changes in voting behavior in France.
Working Papers:
“Syrian Refugees and Gender Inequalities Within Households: Evidence from Turkey,” with Simone Moriconi, December 2025, CESifo Working Paper No. 12296. Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich.
Earlier version: IFLAME Working Paper No. 2024-iFlame-05., September 2024.
This paper uses data from the Turkish Household Labour Force Survey (2005–2020) to examine how Syrian refugee inflows affect gender inequalities within households. Employing a shift-share IV strategy based on the historical share of Arabic-speaking populations in Turkey in 1965, we find that increased refugee inflows are linked to greater intra-family gender inequality. We find a sizeable effect, which is closely intertwined with family formation. When both spouses work, a 10% rise in the stock of refugees may lead to between 0.8% and 3.4% increase in the gender productivity penalty within households with at least one child, while no effect is observed in childless families. These findings suggest that the motherhood channel undermines the labor market position of married native women in response to external labor supply shock induced by refugee migration. Finally, our analysis highlights the importance of sectoral characteristics, differences in education levels, and cultural factors in shaping gender specific competition and inequalities within the household.
“The Native Mobility Response to Rising Refugees and Migrants in Turkey,” with Claire Naiditch, September 2025, GLO Discussion Paper Series 1658, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
This paper investigates the impact of international migration on internal mobility patterns in Turkey between 2014 and 2022. Using rich bilateral migration flow data, we explore heterogeneity by migrant type and nationality. Our findings indicate that an increase in the share of foreigners in a province is associated with higher out-migration of Turkish nationals. In contrast, a greater share of refugees tends to reduce native internal migration, highlighting distinct effects based on migrant status. We also find substantial variation by migrant nationality, suggesting once more that the characteristics of migrants shape their impact on native mobility. Further, we uncover asymmetric effects: the effect of foreign presence is more pronounced in provinces with initially low levels of internal mobility. Finally, by incorporating subjective measures of satisfaction with public services, we show that both access to and satisfaction with local services significantly influence internal migration decisions.
Media:
“Quand la disparition des services publics alimente le vote populiste,” with Étienne Farvaque and Jan Fidrmuc, June 15, 2025, The Conversation France.
Works in Progress:
Retrait des services publics et participation électorale, with Étienne Farvaque and Jan Fidrmuc, INSEE Références
Migration and Local Entrepreneurial Activity – Chapter for Handbook of Research on Immigration and Entrepreneurship, Edward Elgar Publishing
Revisiting Financial Development and Economic Growth Nexus in Turkey, with Bülent Güloğlu
Dissertation:
Essays on Migration, Inequality and Public Finance, PhD Thesis (2025), supervised by Jan Fidrmuc, Simone Moriconi and Claire Naiditch.
The nexus between financial development and economic growth in Turkey: A semi-parametric approach, MA Thesis (2021), supervised by Bülent Güloğlu and Osman Doğan.