Profile
I am an applied micro-economist working at the intersection of labor and development economics. My research investigates early childhood education, fertility, and labor force participation. I study how the market and policy environments of these decisions determine poverty and socio-economic inequality. In one of my most recent projects, I am a principal investigator in a randomized trial of guaranteed basic income targeted to poor individuals living in rural and semi-rural areas of South Carolina. The subjects of my current projects are poor women and their children, either in the United States or in developing countries. Development economics usually focuses on countries other than the United States. However, a significant fraction of American women and their children live in poverty. Two examples illustrated in the figure below are the following: 1) Arkansas' current maternal mortality rate is virtually identical to that of El Salvador, which is both the smallest country in Central America and one of the most disadvantaged countries in the region; and 2) Mississippi's current infant mortality rate is similar to that of Turkey, another developing country according to several standards. Commonalities in the development of children and the decision-making of poor individuals permit a cohesive agenda, studying individuals who live in different contexts but face similar constraints and scarcities.
