Hello!
I am a Colombian third-year Ph.D. student in Public Policy (Economics Track) at Harvard University, and a PhD Affiliate at the Center for International Development (CID).
I am interested in Political Economy, Behavioral and Development Economics.
My name is pronounced like “her-MAHN.”
Work in Progress
Persuasion Failures, Social Image, and Identity
Pre-doctoral Work
Consequences of Violence Against Social Leaders in Colombia
SSRN | PDF
Abstract
I study the causal effect of violence against social leaders on coca cultivation and land restitution requests in the Colombian context from 2012 to 2018. Using the timing of unexpected killings of social leaders in an event study approach, I provide evidence that the start of the violence against social leaders increases hectares of coca by a magnitude of at least 0.27 standard deviations and reduces land restitution requests by a magnitude of at least 0.29 standard deviations, both in the medium term. As more leaders get killed, the effect becomes larger over time. Attempts to kill social leaders have a similar impact on the outcomes. I provide evidence that suggests that this effect is driven by the deterioration of the collective action capacity of civil society, which is depreciated as more violence is exerted on social leaders.
CV
You can view or download my full CV here.
