Job Market Paper
The Psychological Toll of Heat: The Effects of Temperature on Mental Health in Mexico Climate Health — with Antonia Vazquez — Draft
High temperatures worsen mental health, yet evidence from low- and middle-income countries is limited. Using nationwide administrative and survey data from Mexico, we estimate the effects of heat on self-reported well-being, mental illness emergency visits, and suicide. Comparing hotter and cooler weeks within locations, one extra day above 30°C (86°F) increases suicides by 3.2% and emergency visits by 2.4%, while lowering well-being. Effects are larger than in the U.S. but smaller where psychiatrist access is higher. Women’s visits rise more, whereas suicide effects concentrate among men, underscoring mental health as a critical and unevenly protected dimension of climate-related harm.
- 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. [Online Appendix]
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
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
Bordering Heat: Institutional Differences and Health Impacts of Extreme Temperatures Across the U.S.-Mexico Border Climate Health — with Fidel Gonzalez