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Publications
Abstract: We investigate the connection between incomplete property rights and plot size using archival data from Haiti. We estimate that Haiti’s tradition of families jointly owning land increases the cost of land for those who acquire land outside of family networks by 27-46%. These institutions also significantly increase the probability that farmers own fractured holdings. Finally, we simulate the potential gains from eliminating transaction costs. These results inform the discussion of small farms around the developing world and of Haiti’s economic development.
Forthcoming: Journal of Economic History
Working Papers
Immigration Status Reporting and Healthcare Utilization: Evidence from Florida's SB 1718 (Job Market Paper)
Immigration Status Reporting and Healthcare Utilization: Evidence from Florida's SB 1718 (Job Market Paper)
Abstract: I investigate the effects of SB 1718, a 2023 Florida law requiring Medicaid-accepting hospitals to collect patient immigration status. Using administrative healthcare data and county-level variation in exposure, I find that emergency department utilization for uninsured Hispanics spiked following the bill's July 2023 implementation and remained elevated throughout the post-period. This suggests undocumented Hispanics are opting for emergency departments as a ``safe'' alternative to traditional care settings. Forthcoming work on this project uses restricted-use natality data to assess the effects on prenatal care-seeking and downstream infant health.
Presentations: BYU Graduate Student Conference (2026)
ED Visits by Ethnicity and Insurance Status
From Books to Life Choices: The Influence of Carnegie Libraries on Women's Human Capital
From Books to Life Choices: The Influence of Carnegie Libraries on Women's Human Capital
Abstract: I explore the effects of Andrew Carnegie's library philanthropy on women from 1899 until the program's closure in 1919. Using new linkage procedures allowing for the linkage of women across census years (1900–1940), I exploit the timing of library take-up at the municipality-level to compare younger cohorts to older cohorts. I find that library exposure contributed to modest gains in college attendance among women who were wealthier during childhood. Consistent with assortative mating models, wealthier women also married more educated men, suggesting that libraries not only expanded women's own human capital but also had downstream effects on the marriage market.
Works in Progress
The Effects of 2022's Infant Formula Shortage on Infant Health and Household Substitution Behaviors (with Katherine G. Yewell)
The Effects of 2022's Infant Formula Shortage on Infant Health and Household Substitution Behaviors (with Katherine G. Yewell)
Abstract: We estimate the causal effects of the 2022 infant formula shortage in the United States on infant health and parental decision-making. Drawing on geographic variation in formula search rates for “baby formula”, we implement a difference-in-differences design across several outcomes. First, using emergency department data from Florida AHCA, we find that feeding-issue-related admissions spiked at the onset of the shortage, followed by gastrointestinal distress admissions in Q2. We further consider shifts in breastfeeding rates using the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) and shifts in household grocery shopping patterns using the Nielsen IQ Consumer Panel.
Presentations: American Society of Health Economists (2026), Southern Economic Association (2025)
Grants: Institute for Governance and Civics Graduate Research Grant ($5,000)
Dynamic Effects of the Formula Shortage on GI Distress-Related ED Visits
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