Research: Environmental and social risks, vulnerable populations, and policy adaptation
Environmental and social risks—rising temperatures, pollution, and unequal access—are reshaping health and social outcomes. I study how these exposures interact with social vulnerability and how public policy and institutional capacity enable adaptation, resilience, and equity.
- Environmental change and health: How do heat, humidity, and pollution affect mental and physical health and adaptive behavior? Health
- Behavioral responses to regulation: How do regulatory design and institutional capacity shape compliance and downstream environmental and social outcomes? Compliance
Across projects, I use causal inference and administrative/environmental data to study health, behavior, and access to services, with a special focus on vulnerable groups.
Job Market Paper
The Psychological Toll of Heat: The Effects of Temperature on Mental Health in Mexico Climate Health — with Antonia Vazquez — Draft
We show that higher temperatures increase emergency department visits for mental health issues, especially for mood and substance use disorders, and elevate suicide rates and deaths. Self-reported measures of life dissatisfaction and distress worsen during hotter periods. People reduce physical activity and shift to sedentary behaviors, but no significant impacts on quantity of sleep were observed. We also present evidence that the impact of heat was mitigated in localities with access to psychiatrists.
- Presented at Economics of Mental Health Workshop 2025; Presented in the 2025 AERE Summer Conference Poster Session; First Place Award (2025 CHEER Research Retreat Poster); Best Student Poster (2024 Development Economics Workshop)
Publications
Heat and humidity on early-life outcomes: evidence from Mexico Climate Health — Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 129, January 2025.
I provide evidence on the detrimental effect of in utero exposure to heat and humidity on children’s health at birth in Mexico. Effects are larger when accounting for humidity, and mitigated by air conditioning adoption.
Full list of Publications (click to expand)
Decomposing racial/ethnic disparities in the use of telemental health services among U.S. adolescents: Results from the National Survey Health Public Under Review — with Nari Yoo and Yoonyoung Choi.
Explaining ethnic disparities in telehealth use with different levels of English proficiency: a decomposition approach Health Public Telemedicine Reports, 6(1), Sep 2025 — with Nari Yoo and Yoonyoung Choi.
The unequal weight of COVID-19 pandemic: national trends in body mass index among Korean adolescents by immigrant origin and gender (2013–2022) Health Public International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 29(1), Aug 2024 — with Nari Yoo and Yoonyoung Choi.
Immigrant-origin youths at risk: trends in suicidal behaviors among Korean adolescents by immigrant origins and ethnic options (2011–2019) Health Public Journal of Affective Disorders, 321, January 2023 — with Nari Yoo and Yoonyoung Choi.
Do ICT investments decrease firm size? Journal of Industrial Economics and Business, 33(1), Feb 2020 — with Sang Taek Kim. Based on my Master’s dissertation.
Selected work in progress
The Effect of Methane Regulation on Landfill Compliance Behavior Climate Compliance Public
- Presenting at the 95th Southern Economics Association Annual Meeting (2025 Nov); Presented in the 100th WEAI Annual Conference
Depression Remission and Weather Stressors Climate Health — with Manuela Angelucci and Antonia Vazquez
Temperature, Stigma, and Treatment Choice: Evidence from Mental Health Services in Mexico Climate Health Public — with Sandra Aguilar-Gomez
- Recipient of the Institute for Humane Studies Grant
Bordering Heat: Institutional Differences and Health Impacts of Extreme Temperatures Across the U.S.-Mexico Border Climate Health — with Fidel Gonzalez