About Me

I am an assistant professor in the Department of Economics and faculty affiliate of the Murphy Institute at Tulane University. I received my Ph.D. in economics from the University of California, Irvine in 2019. My current research lies at the intersection of political economy, economic geography, and public economics. My primary topics of interest are threefold:

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1. Migration and displacement.​

   • ​Much of my research focuses on migration, in both historical and theoretical perspective.

   • My paper in the Economic Journal examines how Czechoslovakia's expulsion of 3 million Germans after World War II mattered for its subsequent economic development.​​​​​​

2. Conflict and violence.

   • Conflict and coercion characterize economic and political life throughout history.

   • Ongoing work with Jhacova Williams documents the interplay between local political outcomes and racial violence in the post-Reconstruction U.S. South.

3. Culture and institutions.

   • Culture and institutions place parameters on economic decision-making and policy. Much of my work examines the interactions between economics, culture, and institutions.

   • My recent paper in the Quarterly Journal of Economics with Sam Bazzi, Andreas Ferrara, Martin Fiszbein, and Thomas Pearson shows how the mass migration of white Southerners transformed America’s cultural landscape and hastened partisan realignment in the 1900s.

 

As an instructor, I teach courses in microeconomic theory and political economy. In my free time, I enjoy making electronic music, working on house and yard projects, and spending time with my wife Amy, our two kids, our cat Arthur, and our dog Cody. You can find me on Twitter and Bluesky.