Work-in-Progress

A substantial share of the world’s children reside in disaster-prone areas and suffer from stunted growth. Child growth in the first 1000 days of life can falter depending on health endowments and investments.  On average, we document modest adverse effects on children's height that are more pronounced when earthquakes are relatively unexpected and higher in magnitude. These average effects, however, conceal larger short-term effects and significant recovery mechanisms via parental health investments, reconstruction, and foreign aid, which facilitate subsequent catch-up growth of children.  

This project investigates how individuals adapt their economic beliefs and preferences in response to natural disasters. We hypothesize that unexpected natural shocks lead to shifts in these areas, potentially impacting future economic behavior and long-term resilience.  

The project examines whether individuals exposed to disasters modify their economic beliefs, such as the relative importance of luck versus hard work for success. We also investigate potential changes in economic policy preferences, like a shift towards higher or lower taxes.

Ecuador has suffered from several non-natural disasters related to oil extraction and transportation in the Amazon region. We look into the impacts of gaslighters on health analyzing all the registered spots of these oil-extraction instruments and their neighboring communities.