Research Papers

We studied the emergence, persistence, and consequences of urban slums along the structural transformation and urbanization of developing countries. We construct a general equilibrium model in which the size and composition of urban slums emerge endogenously along with disparities in housing costs, labor markets, and schooling opportunities across a country’s rural and urban regions.

The macro development literature has largely ignored exploring the conditions for labor, housing, and schooling markets that give rise to large and persistent shares of a country’s population living in urban slums and has sidestepped the long-term consequences of these extreme forms of metropolitan segregation for human capital of children growing up in slums.

Many rural-to-urban migrants become slum dwellers, segregated from the city. Besides lacking basic services and enduring the dire living conditions, these migrants may be excluded from the learning opportunities offered by the formal cities. As much as 20% of the population in developing countries lives in urban slums, with multiple countries having more of their population in urban slums than in rural areas.

We offered a comparison between the distributional Recentered Influence Function (RIF) and the conventional Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition methods. Additionally, we compared the multi-year cross-sectional Survey of Consumer Finances with the longitudinal Panel Study of Income Dynamics.

We tested the hypothesis that inheritance receipt explains a larger portion of the black-white gaps in net worth compared to human capital, as measured by educational attainment.

The black-white wealth gap exhibits a surge in inequality across the percentiles of the net worth distribution. It is important to determine whether the decomposition at the mean yields different results compared to the decomposition at the median or over the entire distribution.

We investigated the impact of the early withdrawal penalty on Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) by examining withdrawal behavior shortly before and after the penalty is lifted.

We aimed to understand how the expiration of the early withdrawal penalty affects withdrawal behavior, particularly the timing and magnitude of withdrawals, and to explore the influence of liquidity constraints.

Our goal was to inform policymakers about the effects of the early withdrawal penalty on retirement savings behavior, which can guide decisions on adjusting or temporarily removing such penalties.

We critically examined Thomas Piketty’s book “Capital in the Twenty-First Century” and its arguments about rising wealth inequality.

We wanted to provide an alternative perspective on wealth inequality and assess the validity of Piketty’s claims and policy prescriptions.

We offer a valuable contribution to the ongoing debate about wealth inequality and challenges some of Piketty’s central arguments.

We explored the presence of nonlinearities in economic growth and their implications for policy, considering how different growth regimes may require different policy responses.

We aimed to provide insights into the effectiveness of policy interventions by acknowledging and understanding the nonlinearities in economic growth processes.

Our recognition of nonlinearities in economic growth help policymakers tailor interventions to specific growth contexts, enhancing the precision and effectiveness of economic policies.

We explored the concept of poverty traps with a focus on the Appalachian region, examining factors contributing to persistent poverty.

We aimed to provide a nuanced understanding of poverty traps in a specific geographic context, offering insights that could inform targeted anti-poverty policies.

We contribute to the literature on poverty traps, providing region-specific insights that can guide policymakers in designing effective interventions to break the cycle of poverty.

We reexamined the relationship between religion and economic growth, considering the impact of specific religious beliefs and practices on growth rates.

We aimed to provide a nuanced analysis of the role of religion in economic growth by investigating the detailed aspects of religious beliefs and practices, which previous research may have overlooked.

We contribute to a deeper understanding of the complex relationship between religion and economic growth, emphasizing the importance of considering specific aspects of religious influence for more accurate policy implications.

We discussed the history and usage of cross-country regressions in modern growth economics, examining their controversial interpretations and the exaggerated support for various new growth theories. We also highlighted their valuable role in identifying modern stylized facts about growth behavior.

We undertook this study to address the controversy surrounding cross-country regressions and to correct the misconceptions from early interpretations. By doing so, we aim to clarify their role and utility in empirical growth analysis and modern economic theory.

We aim to provide a critical reassessment of cross-country regressions, a fundamental tool in growth economics. By clarifying their appropriate use and significance, we contribute to more accurate and reliable empirical analyses, which are essential for understanding and fostering economic growth.

This chapter provides an overview of current practices in the econometric analysis of economic growth by describing some of the main methodologies that have been developed to study growth, major empirical findings, and the relationship between econometric analyses and growth theories.

Growth econometrics has long been an active field of research, especially since the mid 1980s, but the position of this field within economics remains uneasy. There are observers who regard this form of evidence as essentially inadmissible. It is important to understand why this is so. We will review the problems in this research in detail, but argue that there are some grounds for optimism.

The abiding interest of the study of aggregate productivity, whether in levels or growth rates, perhaps speaks for itself. Seeking to understand the wealth of nations is one of the oldest and most important research agendas in the entire discipline. At the same time, it is also one of the areas in which genuine progress seems hardest to achieve.

We surveyed the econometrics of convergence and examined various empirical claims regarding convergence between rich and poor countries. Our focus was on understanding the relationship between statistical and economic notions of convergence and how disparities in empirical studies may stem from neglecting this relationship.

We conducted this survey because understanding whether convergence exists between rich and poor countries is a pivotal question in new growth economics. New growth theories highlight forms of divergence not explained by neoclassical models, necessitating a thorough investigation of existing empirical evidence.

Our study is important as it addresses the critical issue of economic disparity between countries. By elucidating the relationship between statistical and economic convergence, we provide clarity on the divergent empirical claims, which is essential for formulating effective economic policies and fostering global economic equity