Biography

I received my Ph.D in Social Science from the California Institute of Technology in June 2015. My main fields are Economic History, Political Economy and Public Economics.
My dissertation analyzes the relationship between democratic reform and the extent of government investment in urban infrastructure such as clean water supply, sewer systems and paved streets. I use a new dataset of local government revenue and expenditures to test the hypothesis that poorer citizens may oppose expenditure on public goods if they must pay some of the costs of provision. I then evaluate the benefits of government sanitary expenditure in reducing mortality rates from waterborne diseases during the same period using new small area mortality data. My ongoing research extends this work to analyze the effects of democratic reform on other forms of government expenditure, including redistribution and education.
During my time at Caltech I was teaching assistant for introductory classes in Political Science and Political Game Theory. Prior to my doctoral degree, I completed a BA in Economics at the University of Cambridge, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Economic Competition and Regulation at City University, London.