I am a development economist: I study economic and social problems in the world’s poorest countries. In my research, I design and test practical solutions to real-world problems, while also shedding light on the economic factors that drive persistent poverty more generally. I do this by combining randomized field experiments with cutting-edge statistical and econometric techniques and economic theory.
Publications (* indicates student coauthor)
“Teacher Content Knowledge in Indian Secondary Schools and Its Relationship with Student Learning” (with Sabrin Beg, Anne Fitzpatrick, Adrienne M. Lucas, and Khandker Wahedur Rahman*). January 2026. (forthcoming, AEA Papers and Proceedings) [Ungated Preprint]
“Scared Straight or Scared to Death? Fatalism in Response to Disease Risks”. February 2025. The Economic Journal, 135(670), 1923–1941. [Ungated Preprint] [Data]
“Healthcare Appointments as Commitment Devices” (with Laura Derksen, Natalia Ordaz Reynoso*, and Olivier Sterck). January 2025. The Economic Journal, 135(665), 81–118. [Ungated Preprint] [Slides] [Data]
“Some Children Left Behind: Variation in the Effects of an Educational Intervention” (with Julie Buhl-Wiggers, Juan Sebastián Munoz, Rebecca Thornton, and Jeffrey A. Smith) July 2024. Journal of Econometrics, 243(1-2), 105256. [Ungated Preprint] [Data]
“Peers and Motivation at Work: Evidence from a Firm Experiment in Malawi” (with Lasse Brune and Eric Chyn). July 2022. Journal of Human Resources, 57(4): 1147-1177. [Ungated Preprint] [Online Appendix] [Data]
“How Important is Temptation Spending? Maybe Less than We Thought” (with Lasse Brune and Qingxiao Li*). May 2022. World Bank Economic Review, 36(2): 433–454. [Ungated Preprint]
“Health Knowledge and Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Africa” (with Anne Fitzpatrick, Sabrin Beg, Laura Derksen, Anne Karing, Adrienne Lucas, Natalia Ordaz Reynoso*, and Munir Squires). October 2021. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 190, 33–53. [NBER Working Paper No. 28316] [Ungated PubMed Link]
“Pay Me Later: Savings Constraints and the Demand for Deferred Payments” (with Lasse Brune and Eric Chyn). July 2021. American Economic Review, 111(7), 2179–2212. [Ungated Preprint] [Data]
“Making the Grade: The Sensitivity of Education Program Effectiveness to Input Choices and Outcome Measures” (with Rebecca Thornton). May 2021. Review of Economics and Statistics, 103(2): 251–264. [Ungated Preprint] [Online Appendix] [Data]
“You Know What I Know: Interviewer Knowledge Effects in Subjective Expectation Elicitation” (with Natalia Ordaz Reynoso*). February 2021. Demography, 58(1): 1–29. [Ungated Preprint] [Online Appendix] [Data]
“Income Timing and Liquidity Constraints: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment” (with Lasse Brune). January 2019. Journal of Development Economics, 138: 294–308. [Ungated Preprint] [Online Appendix][Data]
“Prevalence of and Factors Associated with Oral Sex among Rural and Urban Malawian Men” (with Rebecca L. Thornton and Sallie M. Foley). February 2014. International Journal of Sexual Health, 26(1):66-77. [Ungated PubMed Link]
“Missing Safer Sex Strategies in HIV Prevention: A Call for Further Research” (with Sallie M. Foley, Rebecca L. Thornton, Paulin Basinga and Jobiba Chinkhumba). December 2011. African Population Studies, 25(2):267-285. [Ungated PubMed Link]
“Need for Risk Adjustment in Adapting Episode Grouping Software to Medicare Data” (with Thomas E. MaCurdy and Nick A. Theobald). Summer 2009. Health Care Financing Review, 30(4):33-46. [Ungated PubMed Link]
Working Papers (* indicates student coauthor)
“When Given Discretion Teachers Did Not Shirk: Evidence from Remedial Education in Secondary Schools,” with Sabrin Beg, Anne Fitzpatrick, Adrienne M. Lucas, and Khandker Wahedur Rahman*. NBER Working Paper 33242. July 2025. (Reject and Resubmit, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy) [Ungated Preprint]
“Navigating Ambiguity: Imprecise Probabilities and the Updating of Disease Risk Beliefs,” with Divya Pandey*. January 2026. (Under Review) [Ungated Preprint]
“Striking the Right Balance: Why Standard Balance Tests Over-Reject the Null, and How to Fix It,” with Nada Rostom* and Olivier Sterck. December 2025. (Under Review) IZA DP No. 17217. [Ungated Preprint] [Code to Implement RI-based balance test]
“Open Defecation is Negatively Associated with COVID-19 Mortality: Evidence from India,” with Audrey Dorélien and Divya Pandey*. November 2025. (Under Review) [Ungated Preprint] IZA DP No. 18269.
“How to Build a Reader: Evidence from a Scalable Literacy Intervention in Ghana,” with Erik T. J. Andersen*, Simon Graffy, and Monica Lambon-Quayefio. January 2026. [Ungated Preprint]
“Reading for Life: Lasting Impacts of a Literacy Intervention in Uganda,” with Julie Buhl-Wiggers, Ricardo Montero de la Piedra*, Jeffrey Smith, and Rebecca Thornton. January 2024.
“Learning More about Teachers: Estimating Teacher Value-Added and Treatment Effects on Teacher Value-Added in Northern Uganda,” with Julie Buhl-Wiggers*, Jeffrey Smith, and Rebecca Thornton. May 2022. [Ungated Preprint]
“Program Scale-up and Sustainability,” with Julie Buhl-Wiggers, Jeff Smith, and Rebecca Thornton. February 2019. [Slides]
Work in Progress (* indicates student coauthor)
Long-run Impacts of the Northern Uganda Literacy Project (with Julie Buhl-Wiggers, Ricardo Montero de la Piedra*, Jeffrey Smith, and Rebecca L. Thornton)
Integrating Educational Technology with Structured Pedagogy to Improve Learning Outcomes for Every Student (with Erik Andersen*, Simon Graffy, and Monica Lambon-Quayefio)
The Welfare Effects of Recipient Control over the Timing of Cash Transfers (with Francis Annan, Francis Fang*, and Naureen Karachiwalla)
Improving Air Quality in Schools (with Marc Bellemare and Noah Wexler*)
A Meta-Analysis of Heterogeneity in Education Program Impacts (with Julie Buhl-Wiggers, Hanna Han*, Juan S. Muñoz, Jeffrey Smith, and Rebecca L. Thornton)
Digital Savings Groups in Egypt (with Alfredo Burlando, Reham Rizk, and Sarah Wahby*)
*student coauthor
Permanent Working Papers
“‘Rational Fatalism’: Non-Monotonic Choices in Response to Risks.” May 2012. Working Group in African Political Economy (WGAPE), University of California, Berkeley. [PDF][Wayback Machine Archive of WGAPE Page]