Place-Based Policies and Household Wealth in Africa. (with Cecília Hornok and Matthew Amalitinga Abagna) Journal of Development Economics, Volume 176, 103482, September 2025

Abstract: This paper provides novel evidence on the impact of a prominent place-based policy - Special Economic Zones (SEZs) - on the economic well-being of African households. Exploiting time variation in SEZ establishment on a dataset of repeated cross-sections of households in 10 African countries during 1990-2020, we show that households living near SEZs become wealthier relative to the national average after SEZ establishment. The effect accrues mostly within 10 km of SEZs, is not driven by selective migration, and is accompanied by improved access to household utilities, higher consumption of durable goods, increased educational attainment and a shift away from agricultural activities.

• Covered in: VoxDev 

Place-Based Policies and Firm Performance: Evidence from Special Economic Zones in India. (with Holger Görg) European Economic Review, Volume 165, 104752, June 2024

Abstract: This paper exploits time and geographic variation in the adoption of Special Economic Zones in India to assess the direct effects of the program on firm performance. We combine geocoded firm-level data and geocoded SEZs. Our analysis yields that conditional on controlling for initial selection based on observables, the establishment of new SEZs did not induce any discernible positive effect on the productivity growth of firms in the SEZs. To explain this, we focus on the possibility of distortions through non-profitable activities on the part of managers. We find that firms especially in publicly-owned SEZs decreased their productivity growth, while firms located in privately-owned SEZs experience productivity increases. We also show that directors of firms located inside the publicly-owned zones experienced a significant increase in their salary growth, which is not the case in privately-owned SEZs. Our findings are in line with the idea that the possibility of rent-seeking by managers leads to distortions in program implementation.

• Covered in: UNIDO IAP, VoxDev 

Services Liberalization and Product Variety of Manufacturing Firms. Evidence from India. Kiel Working Paper, No. 2294, July 2025

Abstract: This paper investigates the impact of services sector liberalization on product innovation of downstream manufacturing firms in India. Exploiting the staggered introduction of reforms and variation in service input intensity, I find that services liberalization significantly increases firms’ product portfolio. Allowing foreign investments in the banking sector relaxes firms’ financial constraints and increases the amount of interest payments on short-term loans, patterns that I interpret as evidence of reduction in the fixed cost of product innovation. Firms diversify into input-similar industries, which changes the distribution of sales across products, with the core product experiencing the largest decline in sales share.

Welfare Effects of Industrial Policies: Theory and Evidence from India’s De-reservation Policy (with Victor Gimenez-Perales) Kiel Working Paper, No. 2299, September 2025

Abstract: We study how industrial policies affect welfare depending on firms' management practices. In a model of multi-product firms, we show that firms with better management practices are less adversely affected by an industrial policy that fosters market entry and competition. This result follows from firms with better management practices specializing in fewer products with lower marginal costs. Evidence from India’s de-reservation policy supports these predictions. Our simulations estimate a 0.29\% welfare gain in India from the policy. The same policy could increase welfare by 0.39\% in an environment with better management practices, such as those in the US.

Place-Based Policies, Gendered Employment and Intra-household Empowerment Effects. Evidence from Special Economic Zones in Africa (with Cecília Hornok)

Abstract: We show that Special Economic Zones (SEZs), as place-based industrial policies in Africa, can have gendered impacts that disadvantage local women in both labor market participation and intra-household empowerment. Using repeated cross-sectional surveys from nine African countries spatially matched to SEZ locations, we find no evidence of increased female employment within 10 km of a zone. In contrast, male partners and household heads experience higher employment rates. Among skilled women of reproductive age, employment declines significantly following the establishment of a nearby zone, and conditional on employment, there is a shift from wage work to self-employment. These patterns coincide with reduced household decision-making agency and no improvement in women’s justification of domestic violence. The negative female employment effect is concentrated in lower-middle-income countries, supporting a U-shaped relationship between economic development and female labor force participation.