Research
My research examines how governments and communities respond to environmental shocks — from wildfires and floods to droughts — and how political and economic conditions shape access to and use of natural resources. I draw on causal inference, spatial analysis, and remote sensing, complemented by fieldwork.
Working Papers
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Political Mobilization of Clustered Interests: Evidence from the Residential Solar Revolution
Argues that geographic clustering enables otherwise diffuse interests to overcome collective-action barriers. Using county-level U.S. data and instrumenting solar adoption with solar radiation, we find that the residential solar revolution substantially increased the formation of environmental NGOs — revealing a new pathway through which mass technological adoption can reshape the political landscape.
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Deforestation as a Strategy of Authoritarian Survival: Evidence from Myanmar
Studies the ecological consequences of Myanmar's 2021 military coup. Using a difference-in-differences design with georeferenced data on teak suitability, state extractive infrastructure, and access to international markets, we show that the restored junta sharply accelerated deforestation in commercially valuable, accessible forests — evidence that autocrats facing strategic threats turn to renewable natural resources for political survival.
Work in Progress
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Indonesia · Fieldwork
Government Adaptation and Drought Resilience in Indonesia
Indonesia faces increasingly frequent and severe droughts that threaten agricultural livelihoods, food security, and water access for tens of millions of people, yet adaptation responsibilities are highly decentralized across national, provincial, and district governments. This project asks when and where government adaptation effort actually reaches the communities most exposed to drought, and which political and institutional conditions enable — or block — effective response.
The study combines satellite-derived measures of drought exposure with administrative data on adaptation spending and program rollout, supplemented by interviews and fieldwork in drought-prone provinces. By extending the literature on accountability under shocks beyond rapid-onset disasters to slow-onset climate stress in a major decentralized democracy, the project aims to inform academic understanding of climate politics in the Global South and ongoing policy debates on adaptation finance and targeting.
I am currently scoping fieldwork in Indonesia and would welcome conversations with researchers, NGOs, and policy organizations working on climate adaptation, agricultural water management, or local government accountability. Please feel free to get in touch.
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Evaluating the Effectiveness of Firewise USA for Vegetation Management and Wildfire Risk Reduction
Evaluates whether community participation in the Firewise USA program reduces wildfire risk, by combining program enrollment data with satellite-derived measures of vegetation management and wildfire outcomes across U.S. fire-prone regions.
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Infrastructure and Post-Flood Recovery in Mozambique
Examines how the spatial distribution and quality of public infrastructure shape post-flood recovery in Mozambique, asking whether infrastructure investments mitigate or exacerbate inequalities in disaster recovery across affected communities.
Regional & Policy Research Experience
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Belt & Road Policy Research
Built and maintained a Belt and Road policy database covering Southeast, South, and Central Asia. Authored four research reports (10,000+ words) in Chinese and English on international S&T cooperation mechanisms and energy policy.
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Cambodia & Sihanoukville SEZ Analysis
Built a database on Cambodian social media discourse for policy reference and produced an overview report on Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone programs.