NEW ITEMS

Revised version of "Distortions in the International Migrant Labor Market" paper (May 2013).

New paper: "Subsidizing Remittances for Education" (April 2013).

New paper: "Directed Giving" (January 2013).

Revised version of "Transnational Household Finance" paper (December 2012).

Video: Fingerprinting for microcredit in Malawi (October 2012).

 

My research is on the economics of development in the world’s poor countries. I have ongoing research projects on financial decision-making among the poor, behavioral biases in economic decision-making, international migration, and migrant remittances. In the past I have also worked on health, disasters and risk, international trade, and crime and corruption.

Questions I have addressed in my research include:

International migration-- How do households use the earnings of migrant members? Why do migrants return to poor countries? Do remittances serve as insurance? Can innovative financial interventions stimulate remittances and channel them to more productive uses? What challenges do transnational households face in making optimal financial decisions?

Microfinance-- How important is imperfect personal identification for the efficiency of credit markets? How do formal savings facilities affect farm input use, income, and general well-being among rural households?

Disasters and risk-- What are the economic effects of disasters? How well are disaster losses buffered by international financial flows, such as foreign aid, migrants' remittances, and FDI?

Human capital-- How does windfall income affect household educational investment and child labor? How do health shocks early in life affect educational attainment and socioeconomic status in adulthood?

International trade-- Does exporting improve firm performance?

Crime and corruption-- Can monitoring by private firms help governments fight corruption?