Research
Research
The Impact of Police Shootings on Gun Violence and Civilian Cooperation (with Maya Mikdash).
Journal of Public Economics 237 (2024): 105189.
Abstract: This paper studies the effect of police-involved shootings on gun violence and civilian cooperation with police, as proxied by crime reports made via 911 calls. To distinguish between crime reporting and crime incidence, we use administrative data on 911 calls and ShotSpotter data from Minneapolis. Exploiting the variation in the timing and the distance to these incidents, we show that exposure to a police shooting increases gun-related crimes by 5–6 percent, and decreases shots reported by 1–2 percent. Taken together, this implies police shootings reduce civilian crime reports to police by 6–7 percent.
Changes in International Immigration and Internal Native Mobility after Covid-19 in the US (with Giovanni Peri).
Journal of Population Economics (2023).
NBER working paper 30811, Boston Fed 66th Economic Conference
Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic produced a significant decline in international immigration to the USA between 2020 and 2021. This paper documents the timing, characteristics, and heterogeneity of the change in immigration across states and economic sectors. Additionally, we describe the trends in internal native mobility in the USA prior to and after the pandemic, investigating whether natives responded to the decrease in immigration by relocating either geographically or across sectors. Despite the substantial drop in international migration, we do not observe any significant changes in native internal mobility. Employing a panel regression and a shift-share IV, we study the effect of foreign immigration, the emergence of remote-work, and changes in labor demand on cross-state native mobility. Our results indicate that the decline in immigration following COVID-19 and the differential availability of remote-work opportunities across sectors and states did not drive changes in natives’ cross- state or cross-sector mobility.
Online Appendix
Does (all) Police Violence Cause De-policing? Evidence from George Floyd and Police Shootings in Minneapolis (with Maya Mikdash). AEA Papers and Proceedings (2022), 112: 170-73.
Abstract: We test for a "Ferguson Effect" by studying how police effort responds to different incidents of police violence. We do so using two settings in Minneapolis: (1) George Floyd's murder, and (2) police-involved shootings. We find that following George Floyd's death, arrests and police-initiated calls decreased by 62 and 69 percent, respectively. By comparison, arrests and police-initiated calls decreased by 3 and 1.5 percent following police-involved shootings. We conclude that incidents of police violence generate "de-policing," and the effect is much larger following highly publicized incidents.
Online Appendix
Replication Package
Abstract: This paper studies how violence in migrants' source regions shapes their cultural and economic integration, focusing on Mexican migrants in the US during the war on drugs. Combining administrative data linking migrants to their origin municipalities with an instrumental variable approach that exploits pre-war drug trade organization locations within Mexico and Colombian cocaine supply shocks, I find that violence exposure increases naturalization and marriage to US citizens, particularly to naturalized Mexicans, with larger effects for recent and less-educated migrants. Adult labor market outcomes are not significantly affected, but migrants increase educational investment in their children. Taken together, the results point to a decline in return intentions and a broader effort to establish permanence in the US.
Social Networks and Early Childhood Investment: Evidence from Refugees in Denmark (with Teresa Freitas Monteiro).
Abstract: Governments invest heavily in early childhood programs, yet take-up among disadvantaged populations remains low. We study how local social networks shape engagement with these services, focusing on formal childcare. Using quasi-random refugee placement in Denmark, we estimate the causal effect of co-national network size and composition on formal childcare enrollment. Larger enclaves significantly reduce enrollment among children aged 0-2, when parental discretion is greatest, but these effects disappear by ages 3-5. In contrast, network employment rates have no impact. Evidence suggests that networks operate through information substitution and reinforcement of origin-country norms favoring home-based care.
Policy Impacts under Uncertainty: Evidence from DACA.
draft available upon request
"Migration of Central American Minors to the United States," Giovanni Peri and Reem Zaiour. EconoFact, June 6, 2023.
"Labor Shortages and the Immigration Shortfall," Giovanni Peri and Reem Zaiour. EconoFact, January 11, 2022.
Updated series as of February 2023 here
Featured on: The Economist (Jan 2022; July 2022; June 2024); CNN Global Public Square; CNN Business; Forbes; Bloomberg; Washington Post; Financial Times; MarketWatch
"Citizenship for Undocumented Immigrants Would Boost U.S. Economic Growth," Giovanni Peri and Reem Zaiour. Center for American Progress, June 14, 2021.
Accompanying video here
Featured on: LA Times; The Hill; Texas PR; UC Davis Office of Research