Research
Working Papers:
Scaling Heights: Affordability Implications of Zoning Deregulation in India (new version coming soon!)
(with Sahil Gandhi)
Funded by: International Growth Centre (IGC) and Structural Transformation and Economic Growth (STEG)
Coverage: Marginal Revolution, World Bank Blog
Public and Private Transit: Evidence from Lagos (draft available on request)
(with Dan Björkegren, Alice Duhaut and Nick Tsivanidis)
Funded by: IGC, STEG, J-PAL King Climate Action Initiative, World Bank
Let the Water Flow: the Impact of Electrification on Agriculture
(with Alessandro Sovera)
Honorable Mention, S4 Graduate Student Paper Prize 2022, Brown University
Presentations: CSAE (2021)
Book Chapters:
Transport Infrastructure in the US
(with Matthew Turner and Gilles Duranton), in Glaeser, E. and Poterba, J. (eds.), Economic Analysis and Infrastructure Investment, 2021. NBER and University of Chicago Press.
Coverage: Marginal Revolution, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Cato Institute, Forbes, Brookings
Support for massive investments in transportation infrastructure, possibly with a change in the share of spending on transit, seems widespread. Such proposals are often motivated by the belief that our infrastructure is crumbling, that infrastructure causes economic growth, that current funding regimes disadvantage rural drivers at the expense of urban public transit, or that capacity expansions will reduce congestion. In fact, most US transportation infrastructure is not deteriorating and the existing scientific literature does not show that infrastructure creates growth or reduces congestion. However, current annual expenditure on public transit buses exceeds that on interstate construction and maintenance. A careful examination of how funding is allocated across modes is suggested by the evidence. Massive new expenditures are not.
Selected Work in Progress:
Efficiency of Informal Transit Networks (data collection in progress)
(with Dan Björkegren, Alice Duhaut and Nick Tsivanidis)
Developer Incentives and Slum Rehabilitation (administrative data collected)
(with Sahil Gandhi and Nick Tsivanidis)
Housing Working Women in Indian Cities: Safety, Norms and Housing Costs (analysis in progress)
(with Alejandro Molnar and Forhad Shilpi)
Public Housing and Social Outcomes in Urban India (data collection in progress)
(with Sahil Gandhi and Vaidehi Tandel)