Upcoming Presentations

Abstract: I develop a direct measure of managerial attention to financial markets using managers’ own discussions of market conditions during earnings calls covering nearly all U.S. public firms from 2007–2023. Attention varies widely across industries, across firms, and within firms over time. Managers who pay greater attention to financial markets exhibit higher investment–price sensitivity. Attention also enhances managers’ ability to access external capital when financing needs arise, in part by enabling them to respond more effectively to changing market conditions. Ultimately, managerial attention is a first-order behavioral mechanism through which financial markets exert real effects.

Abstract: This paper estimates the causal effects of New York City’s congestion pricing policy on traffic collisions and injuries by exploiting spatial and temporal discontinuities at the Congestion Relief Zone (CRZ) boundary and implementation date. Using high-frequency police-reported crash data, the analysis finds that during weekday peak hours within the CRZ, crashes declined by roughly 72 percent, corresponding to approximately 12 fewer crashes and 8 fewer injuries per day. Back-of-the-envelope calculations imply daily medical cost savings of about $52,000, with substantially larger gains when accounting for broader social costs. Pedestrian injuries rise during the morning commute but fall in the evening, consistent with shifts in rush-hour travel behavior. Spillovers in neighboring areas indicate safety effects extend beyond the charged zone. Overall, congestion pricing generates sizable short-run roadway safety and welfare gains.

Abstract: This paper investigates the political and social consequences of femicides in Italy. Leveraging a novel dataset covering 2,275 femicides across 1,157 municipalities from 2005 to 2023, we explore how these tragic events influence local elections, voter behavior, public spending, and civic engagement. Employing a staggered Difference-in-Differences design, we find that the occurrence of a femicide significantly reduces the probability of electing a female mayor by 8 percentage points, primarily due to a decline in female candidacies. Following femicides, municipalities also exhibit shifts in social spending priorities and an increase in associationism, particularly among organizations supporting vulnerable groups. However, the effects are heterogeneous and depend on the type of violence and community characteristics. Our findings highlight the profound societal and political repercussions of femicide, underlining the urgent need for prompt, targeted interventions and stronger protective measures from public institutions.

Abstract: This paper analyzes the impact of intangible capital on firms' offshoring decisions, aggregate productivity, and external competitiveness. I develop a two-country offshoring model with endogenous intangible investment that captures its unique scalability in a framework featuring heterogeneous firm entry and exit. We find that the introduction of intangible capital successfully accounts for the post-GFC U.S. data, characterized by productivity improvement and real exchange rate appreciation. This occurs as productivity shocks induce domestic firm entry, which lowers average productivity and raises domestic prices, thereby intensifying the Harrod–Balassa–Samuelson effect. Incorporating intangibles yields substantially larger aggregate productivity gains than non-intangible models by enhancing resource allocation. This research contributes by endogenously modeling the scalability of intangible capital, a previously understudied factor in offshoring models.