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Research
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FIELDS OF INTEREST
My main research fields are economic history and development, with special
interests in topics related to institutions, economic growth, demographic change, well-being
and political economy.
In terms of methodology, I am interested in applied econometrics, spatial
analysis and agent-based simulation models, as well as in the use of
anthropometric data in quantitative analysis.
RESEARCH AGENDA
One of things that fascinates me about economic history is that it attempts
to answer the most diverse questions about human behaviour
using tools from pretty much every corner of economic theory (promoting,
at the same time, interaction with other disciplines). This creates
potential for a rich and varied agenda which, in my case, is concentrated
in at least two research areas:
- Dynamics of social change
Change in human behaviour is a
recurrent topic in social sciences and economic historians have given
special attention to the role of incentives in those transformations.
As most economists, I am interested in finding out the (sometimes not
obvious) structure of incentives affecting individuals in those
situations, but I am concerned as well with cases where reaction to
changing incentives is apparently absent. Connected with this later
issue, I also like to pay attention to how this change in behaviour
actually takes place. My doctoral dissertation, for example, that
looks into the fertility decline in nineteenth century France, deals
with these kinds of problems: Why did French couples –after a
considerable history of high fertility- decide to decrease the size
of their families? How did this new behaviour spread throughout
society? Did couples actually change their mind or did the model of new
family became increasingly more successful? The same ultimate
motivation is behind other of the projects I am currently carrying
out. Looking into the bureaucratisation of the American municipalities
in the turn of the (twentieth) century, I wonder what drove elected
politicians to move away from the patronage system, apparently so
appealing for them.
- Standards of living
I have also an interest in how
standards of living can be measured, how they evolved through time
and how they were affected by diverse economic, social and
environmental factors. In particular, I want to learn more about the
impact of dietary changes and diseases on well-being, and in this
respect I find the growing field of anthropometrics particularly
appealing. As a starting point for this part of my research agenda,
one of the ongoing projects I have at the moment involve building a
database of American real wages series in the long run to assess some
of these issues.
You can learn more about the specific projects in which I am involved
now by following the link to [papers & projects].
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