About
I am a Ph.D. candidate in Economics at Virginia Tech. My research lies at the intersection of labor economics, the economics of education, and applied microeconometrics, with a focus on the school-to-work transition and on how policy shapes labor markets and educational outcomes in the United States and Peru.
I am on the 2026–27 academic job market and expect to complete my Ph.D. in May 2027. My CV is available on this site.
Job Market Paper
- Internships and the School-to-Work Transition (draft coming soon)
This paper examines the relationship between undergraduate internship participation and early labor market outcomes. Using rich retrospective survey data from recent graduates of a public university in the eastern United States across diverse majors, I estimate associations between internship completion and outcomes including starting salary, job attainment, job–major match, and unemployment. Results show that completing at least one internship is associated with about 10% higher starting salaries and a greater likelihood of obtaining a job related to one’s major. These associations are robust across specifications and similar in magnitude to the limited causal estimates reported in the literature.
Working Papers
- Formal Entry, Informal Rents, and Labor Rationing (with Paul J. Corcuera).
[Abstract]
This paper studies how formal firm creation influences informality through two mechanisms: changes in market power and labor rationing. We exploit the staggered rollout of Peru’s Business Development Centers (CDE) program, which encouraged the entry of formal firms across districts and industries. A simple framework highlights that informal firms rely on both paid and unpaid family labor and may possess market power. Increased formal entry can reduce informal rents in high-barrier sectors or reallocate underemployed workers toward formal jobs in labor-abundant areas. Using administrative CDE records and ENAHO microdata, we implement an event-study design, Jackknife IV, and Shift-Share IV to estimate the impacts on profits, unpaid labor, and employment transitions.
Selected Work in Progress
- AI Certificates as Labor Market Signals in the US
- Peer Networks and Review Session Attendance (with Hector Tzavellas and Promit Chaudhuri)
- From 20 to AD: Peru’s School Enrollment-Age Reform and Education Results
Teaching
| Instructor, Virginia Tech | |
Principles of Macroeconomics (ECON 2006)
[Description]A sophomore-level gateway course at Virginia Tech taught three times weekly. Designed spaced retrieval-practice homework, peer-instruction review sessions, a transparent participation rubric, and mastery-based exam-replacement policies, then validated them with item-level psychometric analysis to strengthen engagement and student outcomes. Gen-AI effects in the economy discussed in every session. | Fall 2026 |
Macroeconomic Theory (ECON 3204)
[Description]Covers the canonical models of intermediate macroeconomics: IS-LM, AS-AD, the Phillips curve, and open-economy extensions, with emphasis on applying each framework to current policy questions, including inflation, unemployment, and trade shocks. | Summer II 2026 |
Applied Econometrics (ECON 3254)
[Description]Covers the econometric techniques economists use to identify causal relationships in data, with hands-on implementation in Stata. Students develop skills in OLS estimation, regression diagnostics, and research design, applying them to an original research project. | Spring 2026 |
| Instructor, Universidad de Piura | |
Econometrics for Machine Learning and Big Data
[Description]Introduces Machine Learning (ML), Gen-AI, and Big Data econometric analysis: econometric foundations, ML methodologies, and their applications to real-world economic variables, plus basic concepts of Bayesian econometrics. Gen-AI and ML relation is stressed in each session. | 2024–2026 |
Informatics for Economists
[Description]Introduces the programs economists use: Stata, R, Python (Jupyter), and LaTeX, together with the principles of coding and the types of data economists work with. | 2025 |
| Graduate Teaching Assistant | |
| Economics of Race; Principles of Microeconomics, Virginia Tech | 2022–2025 |
Ten undergraduate courses, Universidad de Piura
[Description]Principles of Macroeconomics, Math for Economists, Game Theory, Industrial Organization, Econometrics, Microeconometrics, Macroeconomics I & II, Methodology for Economics Research, and Regional and Urban Economics. Assisted professors in preparing and delivering courses, conducted tutorials, prepared and graded homework and exams, and gave feedback to undergraduate students. | 2016–2023 |
References (Research)
- Suqin Ge (Chair of my PhD commitee), Virginia Tech, ges@vt.edu
- Sudipta Sarangi, Virginia Tech, ssarangi@vt.edu
- Sergio Barrera, Virginia Tech, sbarrera@vt.edu
- Xu Lin, Virginia Tech, xulin88@vt.edu
References (Teaching)
- Jadrian Wooten, Virginia Tech, jadrian@vt.edu
- Sandro Navarro, Universidad de Piura, sandro.navarro@udep.edu.pe