Bio
I am a Ph.D. candidate in Economics and Education at Columbia University and a CDEP Research Fellow. My research sits at the intersection of labor economics, health, education, and public policy, focusing on how early-career service shapes professionals’ long-term decisions.
My job market paper studies the causal effects of Peru’s mandatory rural health service program on the geographic and sectoral choices of psychology graduates. Using administrative data and a lottery-based design, I find lasting impacts on public sector retention and rural service for participants assigned to less desirable locations. My broader work examines barriers to equitable delivery of health and education programs, the influence of gender representation in curricula on learning outcomes, and the effects of environmental shocks on education in Latin America.
I am on the job market for the 2026–2027 academic year.
Job Market Paper
The Making of a Public Sector Worker: The Causal Effects of Temporary Work Assignments to Poor Areas
(with Patrick Agte)
Draft available upon request
Abstract (click to expand): The global shortage of health workers in remote and underserved areas remains a critical policy challenge. Over 70 countries have implemented temporary service programs to address geographic imbalances in health worker distribution. This paper examines whether temporary work assignments to poor rural areas affect long-term career choices using Peru's mandatory rural service program. We exploit exogenous variation in the available choice set of facilities generated by a lottery system determining the order in which psychologists choose service locations. Using administrative data and an original survey of 709 psychologists who completed the program, we find that those assigned to poorer locations through later lottery draws are significantly more likely to subsequently work in the public sector (17%) and poorest districts (59%) up to three years after the program. We investigate mechanisms and find evidence that the experience changes worker preferences and beliefs. Psychologists assigned to poorer areas score 0.12 standard deviations higher on a prosociality index, are more willing to accept jobs in poor areas in hypothetical scenarios, and report increased willingness to work for public facilities serving the poor. We rule out inertia, differential skill formation, and network effects. These findings demonstrate that governments can leverage preference endogeneity, not just financial incentives, to attract workers to underserved areas.
Publications
(with Alan Sanchez and Karen Espinoza)
Oxford Development Studies, 2020
Abstract (click to expand): There is limited evidence of the relationship between intimate partner violence (IPV) and child development in developing countries. Alcohol-induced physical IPV (AIPIPV) is one of the main forms of IPV. We use longitudinal data from a cohort of Peruvian children, tracked from the age of 1 year old, to test the association between AIPIPV against the mother during the child's first two years of life, and the child's test scores (vocabulary and math), socio-emotional competencies (self-efficacy and self-esteem, as measured by agency and pride indexes), and delayed school enrolment. Using multivariate regression techniques to estimate the relationship of interest and control for child, household, and community characteristics, we find that early-life exposure to AIPIPV is associated with lower test scores in vocabulary and math, and with lower self-efficacy. No association with self-esteem and with delayed school enrolment is observed.
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Work in Progress
What Schools Teach Beyond Academics: Gendered Language in School Curricula
(with Alejandra Quintana)
Targeting Shortages: The Effects of Compulsory Rural Service on Maternal and Infant Health in Peru
(with Sarita Ore)
Policy Work
(with Tatiana Velasco, John Fink, David Jenkins and Tania LaViolet)
Community College Research Center, 2024
Abstract (click to expand): A bachelor's degree is increasingly necessary for securing a job that pays a family-supporting wage, yet while most community college students aspire to transfer and complete a bachelor's degree, too few make it through to this goal. And because community colleges enroll nearly 40% of undergraduates, including many students from low-income backgrounds and historically underrepresented groups with limited access to a bachelor's degree, low levels of bachelor's attainment among community college entrants contribute to disparities in bachelor's attainment by income and race/ethnicity nationally. This report, along with the companion report on four-year institutional outcomes, is designed to be used by college, university, and state-system leaders to set clear goals for eliminating disparities and expanding transfer opportunity for all students who start at a community college with the dream of earning a bachelor's degree.
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(with Tatiana Velasco, John Fink, and David Jenkins)
Community College Research Center, 2024
Abstract (click to expand): A bachelor's degree is increasingly necessary for securing a job that pays a family-supporting wage, yet while most community college students aspire to transfer and complete a bachelor's degree, too few make it through to this goal. As is clear from the companion report on community college transfer outcomes, some responsibility for this lies with community colleges. But four-year institutions—which tend to have more financial resources to invest in student success—also need to do more to serve students who transfer from community colleges. These students make up a substantial proportion of four-year enrollments and tend to be more diverse in terms of family income, race, and age than students who start college at a four-year institution. Yet, as this report shows, although more than 80% of community college transfer students are retained into their second year, only about half complete a bachelor's degree within four years after transferring, and completion rates are even lower for low-income, Black, Native American, and older students. This report, which provides first-of-its-kind data on four-year institution outcomes for community college transfer students, is designed to be used by university and state-system leaders to set clear goals for eliminating disparities and expanding transfer opportunities for all students who start at a community college with the dream of earning a bachelor's degree.
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(with Tatiana Velasco, John Fink, and David Jenkins)
Community College Research Center, 2024
Abstract (click to expand): Using National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) data, this report presents national and state-by-state findings on the postsecondary enrollment and completion outcomes of high school students who began taking dual enrollment college courses in fall 2015, tracked up to four years after high school. The authors describe the size and significance of the dual enrollment population for postsecondary institutions and states and compare postsecondary outcomes among dual enrollees to outcomes of other recent high school graduates entering higher education without prior dual enrollment experience. Given previous research indicating that low-income, Black, and Hispanic high school students are severely underrepresented in dual enrollment coursework, the authors further disaggregate results for these subgroups to highlight the potential for dual enrollment to strengthen high-school-to-college-and-career transitions and increase equity for underserved communities.
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Teaching
Columbia University — Teaching Assistant
Microeconomic Theory with Applications to Education (Fall 2022) — graduate level
Education & Economic Development (Spring 2023) — graduate level
International & Comparative Studies in Educational Finance (Spring 2024) — graduate level
Universidad de Piura — Teaching Assistant
Econometrics II — undergraduate level
Microeconomics II — undergraduate level
Macroeconomics II and III — undergraduate level
Impact Evaluation — undergraduate level
I am always open to exchanging ideas and collaborating on research. If my work resonates with you or if you would like to connect, please feel free to reach out!
Siempre estoy abierta a intercambiar ideas y colaborar en investigaciones. Si te interesa saber más de mi trabajo y deseas ponerte en contacto, no dudes en escribirme!
Email: mrb2285@tc.columbia.edu
