Prenatal Air Pollution Exposure and Early-Childhood Cognition: The Role of Nutrition Intervention
R&R at the Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource EconomistsThis paper examines the impact of prenatal exposure to air pollution on early childhood cognitive development and the potential mitigating role of nutritional interventions in China. Using variation in fetal exposure to PM2.5, we show that higher in-utero pollution levels reduce cognitive outcomes in early childhood. A randomized micronutrient supplementation program partially offsets these adverse effects, suggesting that improved nutrition can buffer some of the developmental damage caused by environmental shocks during gestation. These findings underscore the importance of complementary health and nutrition policies in alleviating the long-term consequences of environmental risk in developing countries.
Presentations: Psychology and Economics of Poverty Convening 2024, Pacific Conference for Development Economics 2024, 4th Asian Workshop on Econometrics and Health Economics
Impacts of Contemporaneous Air Pollution Exposure on Cognitive Performance in Kenya
R&R at the Journal of Health EconomicsThis paper examines the short-run impact of contemporaneous exposure to fine particulate matter (PM₂.₅) on cognitive performance in midlife adults in Kenya. Using high-frequency personal exposure data collected via Atmotube monitors and linked to detailed cognitive assessments from the Kenya Life Panel Survey (KLPS), we estimate the causal effects of pollution exposure on multiple cognitive domains. We document that higher real-time PM₂.₅ exposure significantly reduces cognitive performance, with effects concentrated in measures of general cognition. These findings provide new evidence on the immediate cognitive costs of air pollution in low- and middle-income settings and underscore the broader human capital implications of environmental health risks. (NBER Working Paper)
Presentations: PAA 2025
War Exposure and Aging: Evidence from Vietnam War
This paper studies the long-run effects of early-life war exposure on late-life human capital in Vietnam. We combine village-level bombing intensity from U.S. military records with geocoded survey data from the 2018 and 2021 waves of the Longitudinal Study of Aging and Health in Vietnam (LSAHV), linking individuals to local conflict exposure nearly five decades earlier. To address endogeneity, we exploit distance to the 17th parallel as an instrument for bombing intensity.
Presentations: PAA 2025 (Best Poster Award), ESE-RGHI-GHE Workshop on Health Economics in LMICs 2026
talks
Talk 1 on Relevant Topic in Your Field
Published:
This is a description of your talk, which is a markdown file that can be all markdown-ified like any other post. Yay markdown!
Tutorial 1 on Relevant Topic in Your Field
Published:
Talk 2 on Relevant Topic in Your Field
Published:
Conference Proceeding talk 3 on Relevant Topic in Your Field
Published:
This is a description of your conference proceedings talk, note the different field in type. You can put anything in this field.
teaching
Teaching experience 1
Undergraduate course, University 1, Department, 2014
This is a description of a teaching experience. You can use markdown like any other post.
Teaching experience 2
Workshop, University 1, Department, 2015
This is a description of a teaching experience. You can use markdown like any other post.