Research

Job Market Paper 

Virtual Windows Through Glass Walls? Digitization for Mobility-Constrained Female Entrepreneurs.
AEA registry: 9177. 

Abstract: Social norms and childcare responsibilities often constrain women's mobility and work. In this paper, I investigate the promise of digitalization in unlocking the growth of home-based businesses, an economic lifeline for women in developing countries. I randomly offer 1,122 Jordanian female entrepreneurs access to virtual storefronts through Facebook business pages, as well as access to an online digital marketing training created in collaboration with local social media influencers. After six months of hands-on support, treated women had higher business survival, weekly revenue, and attracted more online clients. Machine learning heterogeneity analysis reveals that higher business performance and limitations on the owner's ability to leave her house at baseline are particularly predictive of effects. Together, results suggest that when constraints to technology adoption are lifted, digitalization can unlock windows of opportunity to talented female entrepreneurs, especially those mobility-constrained among them.

Working Papers

Evidence on Digital Training for Aspiring Female Entrepreneurs.
AEA registry: 7790. 

Abstract: I experimentally investigate whether online information alone, without outsourcing or support, can expand women's entry to and success in home-based entrepreneurship. I find that despite its virtual format and focus on working from home, an online business training program in Jordan failed to attract low mobility women at the same rate as high mobility women. Online training alone also had limited effects on business outcomes and made participants more likely to agree with statements promoting women's stay at home. The results suggest that in conservative settings, information on home-based opportunities for women without an experienced increase in their income might reinforce views that tie them to the domestic sphere.

Market Exposure on Facebook: Evidence from Developed and Developing Countries.
with Mike Bailey, Edward Glaeser, and Michael Luca. 

Abstract: Are internet-based nudges more or less effective in the developing world? We analyze a large experiment on Facebook in which business pages were recommended to users expected to like them across more than one hundred countries. We find that exposure matters everywhere, but effect sizes on page fans and followers are significantly bigger in countries with lower levels of development in the sample.  This difference is driven by users of Android phones rather than iPhones, suggesting that market access support is particularly effective for middle income residents of poorer countries.   We also find large increases in the cumulative number of messaging threads between users and businesses, suggesting that online exposure has downstream effects on match quality and interactions.

Between Trust and Trade: on Informal Credit Networks in India.
with Alp Sungu and Kartik Srivastava. Draft available upon request.
AEA registry: 12890.

Abstract: We study store credit, a system of deferred payments offered by small businesses to their customers in large parts of the developing world. To do so, we employ an intensive data collection exercise at local shops in an urban Indian settlement and randomly offer thousands of their customers either store credit, a price discount, or a business-as-usual control. Using descriptive scanner data, we find that store credit is prevalent but more likely among in-group members, such as business owners and customers who share a religion. Analyzing experimental results, we find that store credit offers increase businesses’ market access by expanding foot traffic and spending in the disbursing shops. In parallel, after the intervention’s subsidies concluded, stores continue to extend credit to treated customers, including those that don’t share a religion with them. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that lending particularly increased among regular but first-time borrowers, suggesting potential learning of customer risk type. Analyzing default rates, we find that the increase in lending does not result in higher default or longer repayment periods, consistent strong enforcement and incentives. Finally, using a household survey, we find that access to credit increased spending and consumption smoothing among treated customers. Together, our results underscore the role of small businesses as local lenders and explain the prevalence of store credit for shoppers’ consumption smoothing and businesses’ market access. Importantly, the findings highlight the promise of subsidizing experimentation among lenders to learn borrower type and foster trust, both within and across social group members.

Work in Progress

Opportunity Across Borders: Evidence on Remote Work for Refugees.
with Emma Smith. Funding secured, implementation ongoing.
AEA registry: 13144. 

Abstract: While talent is abundant among forced migrants, opportunity is not. For more than 100 million forced migrants around the world (UNHCR, 2022), numerous challenges stymie efforts for social and economic integration. In this project, we experimentally investigate whether remote work opportunities can provide financial sustenance for forced migrants, often constrained by legal barriers to work locally. The study will cross-randomize participants’ access to professional mentorship and to training, with the aim of lifting informational, logistical, and behavioral barriers to technology adoption. The project aims to understand if online markets for skills can unlock opportunities for talented individuals among heavily understudied populations of displaced people, with potential implications on their skill investments, earnings, migration decisions, and integration in refugee and host communities.

Religion in the Digital Age.
with Samuel Bazzi, Faiz Essa, and Benjamin Marx. Analysis stage.

Cell Phones and Growth in Kenya.
with Tavneet Suri and Kamal Bhattacharya. Analysis stage.