Research

Standing Tall, Falling Fast? Height and Combat Outcomes in the American Civil War

A large literature documents a height premium in the labor market and socioeconomic outcomes, and taller individuals often experience advantages in civilian life. Whether this advantage extends to military service remains unclear. I study this question using individual-level data on Union Army soldiers during the American Civil War. I document that height is positively associated with the probability of battlefield injury and death, implying an adverse effect on combat success. Applying an instrumental variable approach, I provide evidence suggesting that this relationship is causal. The results are consistent with increased visibility and frontline exposure offsetting potential physical advantages of greater stature. At the same time, taller soldiers enjoyed greater prospects for military career advancement, highlighting a trade-off between risk and reward.

The Cost of Missing Cargo: Economic Effects of Trade Disruptions in the Early Modern Netherlands

The Internet Miracle: The Impact of Internet Access on Household Savings in Indonesia (with Arif Anindita and Hafizha Iftina)

Bulletin of Monetary Economics and Banking (2021)

Financial Dollarisation Hysteresis: The Case of Indonesia (with Heni Wahyuni)

Economic Papers (2019)

Multidimensional Poverty and the Risk of COVID-19 in Indonesia  (with Muhammad Wahyu, Dwi Ningrum, and Cut Aidha)

PRAKARSA Working Paper (2020)