Essays in Spatial Economics and Development

Abstract

This dissertation consists of three essays studying how geography and government policies related to it impact consumers and firms in developing countries. The first chapter, coauthored with Bernardus Van Doornik, studies the effect of financial frictions and place-based credit subsidies on regional and aggregate outcomes within countries. The second chapter, coauthored with Diana Sverdlin-Lisker, studies how consumers’ spatial mobility affects retail market structure in developing countries. The third chapter, coauthored with Gaurav Khanna, Carlos Medina, Anant Nyshadam, Jorge Tamayo, and Audrey Tiew, studies how urban transportation infrastructure investments shape legitimate and criminal employment opportunities within cities.