I am a political economist studying inequality, redistribution, and democratic representation. I defended my Ph.D. dissertation in Politics at Princeton University in December 2025, with the degree expected on January 31, 2026. Starting January 1, 2026, I will be a Postgraduate Research Associate at Princeton University, where I continue my research on the political economy of inequality.
My dissertation asks a central question in political economy: Why does high and persistent inequality not consistently generate strong political pressure for redistribution? Focusing on Brazil, an upper–middle-income country marked by deep spatial and social disparities, I study how inequality and multilevel governance influence citizens’ understanding of inequality, and how these perceptions translate into demands for redistribution, political behavior such as voting, and ultimately development outcomes.
My job market paper, Beliefs, Values, and the Geography of Redistribution Preferences, examines why individuals support redistribution in some settings but not others under persistently high inequality? The paper distinguishes between two foundations of demand for redistribution, beliefs about inequality and aversion to it, and shows that each operates differently at the municipal and the national level in Brazil. I find that downward belief updating reduces support for national, but not local, redistribution, while respondents exhibit stronger aversion to local inequality than to national inequality. Together, the results show that beliefs drive demand for national redistribution, whereas aversion anchors redistribution locally.
I am advised by Matías Iaryczower, Carles Boix, Guadalupe Tuñón, and Thomas Fujiwara.
Before joining Princeton, I obtained an M.A. in Analytical Political Economy from Duke University and a B.A. in Economics from Minzu University of China.