Welcome to my website. I am an applied development microeconomist who works on agriculture and labor in Latin America.
I currently serve as the Wade Jesuit Visiting Assistant Professor at the Department of Economics of Marquette University. I am also an affiliate of the Collaborative for Econometrics and Integrated Development Studies (CEIDS) at Notre Dame’s Kellogg Institute for International Studies.
I hold a PhD in Applied Economics from the University of Minnesota and an MS in International and Development Economics from the University of San Francisco.
My research studies two sets of decisions that shape economic mobility in Latin America: how smallholder farmers engage with agricultural markets, and how workers build pathways into formal-sector employment.
I use a variety of quasi-experimental and experimental research designs, including network methods, randomized controlled trials, and lab-in-the-field experiments, with data from original household surveys, large-scale administrative data sets, and geospatial sources. I partner with a variety of organizations, such as Capeltic, a coffee cooperative in rural Mexico; Fe y Alegría Perú, a network of schools; and the EconLab at the Banco de México.
My work comes from 20 years of experience on the US/Mexico border and in Latin America and seeks to influence not only the academy but also policy to improve the lives of people across the region.
Recent papers
Published
Unpacking Side-Selling: Experimental Evidence from Rural Mexico (with Chris M. Boyd and Grant X. Storer). Agricultural Economics, 2025. Journal version · Open-access PDF · Replication
Working papers
Information Decay and Cooperative Entry Under Risk (with Grant X. Storer and Jesse Anttila-Hughes). PDF | Slides
The Role of Social Networks in Post-Displacement Outcomes (with Juan Pablo Arrendondo Ambriz and Lorenzo Aldeco Leo). Draft available upon request. | Slides
Sweet and Timely Income: The Effect of Honey Production in Reducing Food Insecurity of Coffee Producers (with Chris M. Boyd, Grant X. Storer, and Jesse Anttila-Hughes). PDF
Where You Go Depends on Who You Know: Social Networks as Determinants of Mexican Internal Migration. Second year paper. PDF
In the news
As a Jesuit priest-economist, I have recently been featured in Jesuit and Catholic publications:
- Economists express concern about the poor as Supreme Court weighs tariffs. 11/7/25.
- The ICE raid on a Hyundai plant shows how hard it would be to quit globalization. 9/18/25. ungated version.
- Jesuit Special Studies: Charting Paths of Learned Ministry. 3/4/2025
- Catholic Social Teaching and Trump’s Tariffs. 3/3/2025. ungated version.
Also, a book review of mine of Research Ethics in Applied Economics was just published in Faith & Economics 83. You can read an ungated version.
Upcoming talks
- Colorado State University Economics Seminar on May 1, 2026, presenting “The Role of Social Networks in Post-Displacement Outcomes”
- TEC-Monterrey (Mexico City) on May 15, 2026, presenting “The Role of Social Networks in Post-Displacement Outcomes”
- AAEA Annual Meeting in Kansas City, July 26-28, 2026, presenting “The Role of Social Networks in Post-Displacement Outcomes” and “Information Decay and Cooperative Entry Under Risk”