Research
Working Papers
Watch Your Step: The Economic and Behavioral Responses of Rural Households to Landmines During Conflict (Job Market Paper)
(with Sakina Shibuya)[Paper]
Abstract: Antipersonnel landmines instill fear in people living in contaminated areas, disrupting economic activity and altering household decision-making. This paper examines how recent landmine-related events affect rural households' livelihoods. Using administrative records of landmine events combined with spatial household data from the Colombian Longitudinal Survey, we identify incidents near households' residences and employ a fixed effects model to estimate their impact. Our findings indicate that households reduce risky activities, such as agricultural labor and healthcare-seeking, following recent landmine events. Specifically, individuals are 16% less likely to work in long-term agricultural jobs and 12% less likely to work on their own fields if a nearby landmine event occurred shortly before the planting season. These households are also more likely to hire external agricultural workers, likely substituting for their own labor. Furthermore, exposed adults are less inclined to seek formal preventative healthcare. However, responses differ by liquidity constraints: while wealthier households reduce agricultural labor, liquidity-constrained households turn to agricultural day labor to offset income losses from reduced work in other agricultural and non-agricultural occupations. This study sheds light on the unequal risk-bearing capacities of rural households in conflict zones.
When Protection Fails: Effects of Military Bases on Sexual Violence in Colombia
(with Sakina Shibuya)[Paper]
Abstract: Sexual violence committed by soldiers are ubiquitous across the world. This paper investigates the impact of military base presence on sexual violence, fertility, and child support disputes in Colombia, a nation with a recent experience of large-scale growth in military base presence. Using a novel dataset constructed from diverse sources, we track military base locations across Colombian municipalities from 1998 to 2016. Employing an event-study approach, we identify the causal effects of military bases on host communities. Our findings reveal that the presence of military bases significantly increases sexual violence, with a 72% rise in registered cases over the course of 16 years after the introduction of military base. Despite this increase in sexual violence, we find no significant changes in fertility or child support disputes. These results are not driven by changes in population or security conditions. This study advances the literature on conflict-related sexual violence and the broader consequences of military base presence on local populations.
Work in Progress
Competition and Product Quality: Experimental Evidence from Kenya [Pre-registry]
(with Joshua W. Deutschmann, Jeremy Foltz, Timothy Njagi, and Emilia Tjernström)
Second follow-up data collection in progress
Boosting Demand in Markets for Experience Goods: Experimental Evidence on a Quality-Conscious Seller’s Entry in Kenya [Pre-registry]
(with Joshua W. Deutschmann and Emilia Tjernström) Data collection finished! Analyzing preliminary results