Working Papers

The Stable Transformation Path (with Francisco J. Buera, Joseph Kaboski, and Martí Mestieri) November 2021

Dynamic models of structural transformation are often non-stationary and so preclude balanced growth path (BGP) analysis. This paper develops a generalization of the BGP concept for a larger class of models, which we coin a Stable Transformation Path (STraP). We prove existence and uniqueness for a broad class of models and explore some of the medium run growth implications.

Works in Progress

Unemployed or Out of Town: Optimal Spatial Adjustment to Regional Shocks June 2022

In this paper, I study the optimal place-based transfers in a country with nominal rigidities and free migration. After a region suffers a negative demand shock, monetary transfers can stimulate demand since people disproportionately buy local. However, the money encourages people to stay in a recessionary region when they could find gainful employment somewhere else. If people are mobile enough, the government actually wants to tax people in a region that suffers a demand shock.