Working Papers
We use intelligence reports from the U.S. occupation of Haiti from 1915 to 1934 to show that American officials believed their state-building initiatives were persuading the Haitian elite to support the occupation.
We demonstrate a connection between Haiti's tradition of jointly owned properties and misallocation in agricultural plots, explaining a key feature of Haiti's underdevelopment.
We look at migration patterns to the Dominican Republic using new data on over 400,000 work permits.
White Papers
The Nouvo Biznis Indicator (NBI) is a real-time proxy for economic growth in Haiti.
Publications
While many believe that professional baseball recruiting in the Dominican Republic has hurt education, we find no evidence that it decreased educational attainment.
Economic Development and Cultural Change,Volume 74, Number 2, January 2026. https://doi.org/10.1086/737224
Vancouver banned Uber for 10 years, which lets us observe the long-run effects of Uber on public transit, congestion, and traffic fatalities.
Canadian Journal of Economics, Volume 58, Issue 3, August 2025. https://doi.org/10.1111/caje.70023
A titling program in Haiti failed to generate much interest because onerous requirements prevented people from applying.
Public Choice Volume 203, pages 277–303, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11127-024-01195-9
The American occupation of Haiti immediately ended instability and increased state capacity. In response, more foreigners operated businesses in Haiti.
European Review of Economic History, Volume 28, Issue 3, August 2024, Pages 375–398. https://doi.org/10.1093/ereh/head025
Even though they were free to migrate, refugees in Haitian camps chose to stay because of access to public land and social networks.
Explorations in Economic History, 89, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eeh.2023.101528
In response to WWII, Haiti increased its fiscal capacity, which allowed it to increase its legal capacity.
Journal of Economic History, 83(3): 709-746, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022050723000220
The international community intervened in Haiti's election after the earthquake, and this intervention probably discouraged voters from participating in 2015.
Contemporary Economic Policy 40(2): 369-390, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1111/coep.12559Digital
Many Caribbean countries started producing sugar in the early 1900s, but Haiti, the once world-leading sugar producer, did not because of its property rights institutions.
Journal of Economic History, 81(2): 513-548, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022050721000139
It looks like Uber complements public transit on average, but the effect varies by city.
Journal of Urban Economics 108: 36-50. 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jue.2018.09.003
Smartphones distract parents and their young kids get injured as a result.
Journal of Public Economics Vol. 156, pp. 200-213. 2017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2017.10.008
When the NBA introduced the three-point line, the productivity of centers and forwards increased because guards spread the defense.
Journal of Sports Economics Vol. 15, 5: pp. 478-496. 2014. https://doi.org/10.1177/1527002514542740
Countries differ in how they restrict movie content for children.
Journal of Children and Media, Vol. 8, Iss. 3, pp 240-252. 2014.
Cities always choose terrible ways to finance new stadiums.
International Journal of Sport Finance, Vol. 8, No. 2, pp 157-171. 2013.
Movies that just barely got an R-rating make less box office revenue than movies that just barely got a PG-13.
Contemporary Economic Policy, Vol. 31, Issue 1, pp 13-21. 2013. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1465-7287.2012.00315.x