Recent research suggests that short-term exposure to air pollution is associated with an elevated prevalence of respiratory infectious disease. We examine the relationship between the air quality index (AQI) and weekly cases of influenza-like illnesses (ILI) and COVID-19 in the United States. We...

This paper estimates the link between population density and COVID-19 spread and severity in the contiguous United States. To overcome confounding factors, we use two Instrumental Variable (IV) strategies that exploit geological features and historical populations to induce exogenous variation...

Abstract The unemployment rate is the core indicator when researchers and policy-makers assess the level of underemployment in an economy. However, accumulating evidence suggests that the unemployment rate is biased and underestimates the true level of underemployment. Closing this gap is...

This paper documents that in Sub-Saharan Africa areas isolated from the capital city are less economically developed and examines potential underlying mechanisms. We apply a boundary-discontinuity design using national borders that divide pre-colonial ethnic homelands to obtain...

This paper estimates the link between population density and COVID-19 spread and severity in the contiguous United States. To overcome confounding factors, we use two Instrumental Variable (IV) strategies that exploit geological features and historical populations to induce exogenous variation...

Recent research suggests that short-term exposure to air pollution is associated with an elevated prevalence of respiratory infectious disease. In this paper, we examine the relationship between the air quality index and weekly cases of COVID-19 and influenza-like illnesses (ILI) in the United...