Research

Working papers

• The Unintended Consequences of Industrial Policies: Evidence from Colombia
  Aggregate and individual effects of PBPs on the informal sector
  Abstract

  This paper examines the local economic impact of Colombia’s Free Economic Zones (FEZs) program, implemented between 2005 and 2018. Using a novel dataset that integrates georeferenced data on FEZs, municipalities, household characteristics, and firms, I analyze the spatial effects of these zones on labor markets and firm dynamics, with a particular focus on informality. The findings reveal that FEZs significantly increase informality, with spillover effects on nearby regions but minimal impact on overall employment. While they create formal job opportunities for skilled workers and women, low-skilled workers face rising informality and wage losses. Empirically, I show that FEZs boost the profitability of high-productivity formal firms, enabling them to raise wages and expand employment. However, this also raises labor costs, forcing low-productivity formal firms to exit and increasing the productivity threshold for formal firm entry, ultimately leading to higher informality. Building on these results, I aim to develop a structural model to further rationalize and quantify these mechanisms.

  Presentation

  LSE Workshop of Early Career Women in Economic Geography and Spatial Economics, IFS-UCL-LSE/STICERD Development Seminar, HEC PhD seminar 2025, Junior Workshop ENS de Lyon 2024, LAGV 2024, Konstanz Brown Bag Seminar, Urban Economic Association Summer School 2024, QMUL workshop 2024, AMSE PhD seminar

Work in progress

• Artificial intelligence and trade (with Despoina Balouktsi & Priyam Verma)
  Impact of trade on artificial intelligence (AI) innovation and overall economic growth
  Presentation

  ETSG 2024

• Caring for the unpaid caregivers: Evidence from Bogotá (with Natalia Labrador)
  Effects of spatially targeted care policy on women’s labor market outcomes, unpaid care work, and IPV
  Presentation

  AMSE DEVPOL informal seminar

• Place-based cross-subsidies and self-employment (with Ricardo Guzman)
• Technology adoption and informality: Evidence from Zambia
  Competition effects of technology adoption in the presence of a large informal sector