Working papers

• Safer Streets, Healthier Minds: Evidence from a Crime Prevention Program in Peru (with A. Aparicio Fenoll and Silvia Mendolia)
  Revise and Resubmit, Journal of Public Economics
  Aug 2026, Working paper [Abstract] [PDF]

  Can public safety interventions improve mental health? While a large literature shows that crime and perceived insecurity are associated with psychological distress, less is known about whether policy-induced improvements in local safety conditions translate into better mental health. We study this question using Peru’s Safe Neighborhood program, a large-scale crime prevention intervention that increased police patrolling in targeted urban neighborhoods. Exploiting the program’s staggered implementation across neighborhoods, we find that increased police presence improved mental health indices by about 0.13 standard deviations and reduced the incidence of moderate or severe depression. We document concurrent reductions in victimization, increases in perceived national police presence, and improvements in healthcare utilization and employment, suggesting that the welfare gains from public safety policies extend beyond crime reduction.

• When Extreme Weather Hits Home: Huaicos and Gender-Based Violence in Peru (with M. Tambussi)
  Submitted
  Oct 2026, Working paper [Abstract] [PDF]

  This paper examines how huaicos—climate-induced extreme weather events increasingly frequent in Andean countries—affect intimate partner violence (IPV). We link a database containing the geocodes of huaicos with the Peruvian Demographic and Health Survey for the 2010–2019 period. Using a sample of eventually treated women and exploiting the gradual and exogenous occurrence of these events, our results show that exposure to high-intensity huaicos increases both general and physical IPV by 21–26%. An event-study analysis reveals that these effects are persistent and intensify over time. Potential mechanisms include increased partners’ alcohol consumption, deteriorated women’s mental health, higher informal employment, and lower wages.

• Political Corruption Scandals and their Strain on Public Mental Health
  Draft coming soon!
  Aug 2026, Working paper [Abstract]

  Beyond their direct impact on politics and the economy, corruption imposes significant societal costs on individuals and households, affecting their political beliefs and attitudes. In this study, we investigate whether political corruption scandals also affect psychological well-being. We examine how corruption scandals may harm citizens' mental health by exploiting major episodes involving prominent Peruvian politicians between 2013 and 2019. Our identification strategy leverages quasi-exogenous variation in individual exposure to these scandals, generated by differences in interview dates. We find that depressive symptoms increased immediately after these scandals, with adverse effects persisting at least into the medium run. Effects are more pronounced when politicians who represent the 'system' are involved, particularly incumbent and opposition politicians at the national level, pointing towards political disillusionment as a likely mechanism. We conclude that the consequences of corruption scandals extend beyond immediate economic impacts and can harm public health.

Work in progress

• Internet and LGBTQ+ rights
• Community Mental Health Care and Psychological Well-being (with J. Cueto)
• Inclusive Education Policies and Political Attitudes
• Teacher Training and the Math Gender Gap (with A. Aparicio Fenoll, D. Contini, M.L. Di Tommaso, D. Piazzalunga, S. Mendolia, G. Savio, A.Solis Alonso, E. Rettore, L. Rocco)

Pre-Doctoral Publications

• The social costs of crime: erosion of trust between citizens and public institutions (with A. Cozzubo and J. Cueto)
  Economics of Governance, 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10101-021-00251-0

• Immigration, perceived discrimination and mental health: evidence from Venezuelan population living in Peru (with B. Mougenot, E. Mezones, A. Rodriguez and B. Cabieses)
  Globalization and Health, 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-020-00655-3

• Gender disparities in scientific production: A nationwide assessment among physicians in Peru (with B. Mougenot and P. Herrera)
  PLoS ONE, 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0224629

• The gender differences in highly paid wage: a case study of Peruvian physicians (with B. Mougenot)
  Cadernos de Saude Publica, 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/0102-311X00043018