Recent AREC Dissertations and the Role of Dissertation-Stage Support
In recent years, AREC PhD graduates have completed dissertations that span continents, policy domains, and methodological approaches, reflecting both the rigor and real-world relevance that define the department’s doctoral training.
From climate shocks in South Asia to water access in Mexico City, from land reform in China to marriage law impacts in Indonesia, these projects demonstrate the depth of research emerging from AREC.
Below is a snapshot of several recently completed dissertations.
Climate Change, Gender, and Household Inequality
Fatima Najeeb’s dissertation examines how climate shocks such as floods and extreme heat reshape economic vulnerability within households in Bangladesh. Her research shows that flood exposure can lead to a reallocation of household resources away from women and children, with effects persisting years after the shock. In another chapter, she finds that prolonged exposure to extreme heat during pregnancy significantly affects children’s long-term health outcomes. Her work connects climate economics, gender inequality, and public policy in ways that have global implications.
Technology Adoption and Water Access
Javier Lopez Aguilar studies the impact of subsidies designed to promote adoption of rainwater harvesting systems in low-income neighborhoods in Mexico City. Combining theory with empirical analysis, his research demonstrates that continued use and benefits of the technology depend heavily on household willingness to pay. His findings offer important insights for the design of subsidy programs aimed at improving water access in resource-constrained settings.
Marriage Law and Long-Term Economic Outcomes
Ying Chen’s dissertation analyzes the economic effects of Indonesia’s 1974 Age-of-Marriage law. Using rigorous regression discontinuity methods, she finds that the law delayed marriages and significantly increased educational attainment for women. Her work also examines how legal reforms influence matching patterns within the marriage market, contributing to a deeper understanding of how institutions shape long-run economic and social outcomes.
Income Inequality and Environmental Quality
Aldo Gutiérrez Mendieta explores the relationship between income inequality and environmental outcomes through a novel theoretical model and laboratory experiment. His work investigates how green and “brown” consumption choices interact with income distribution and proposes policy tools that address both inequality and environmental externalities simultaneously. The findings contribute to ongoing debates in environmental and development economics.
These dissertations required years of theoretical development, empirical refinement, and sustained intellectual effort. They reflect the department’s continued commitment to producing rigorous, policy-relevant scholarship that engages with some of the most pressing economic challenges of our time.
The students currently in our program are working toward that same level of scholarship. At the same time, this has been a more constrained year across higher education, with federal research uncertainty and tighter discretionary resources affecting departments nationwide. Timely support during the dissertation stage has never been more important.
This past year, AREC alumna Jyotsna “Jo” Puri established the Puri Family Dissertation Enhancement Award to provide flexible, targeted funding at pivotal moments in doctoral research. The award supports up to $5,000 for dissertation-related needs such as data acquisition, fieldwork, and empirical refinement, resources that can meaningfully strengthen the quality and competitiveness of a student’s work.
The mission of the Puri Fund is simple: remove barriers that limit a dissertation’s potential and elevate the next generation of AREC scholarship. If you are interested in supporting the Puri Family Dissertation Enhancement Award, you may support the Puri Fund here.
AREC remains proud of its recent graduates and committed to ensuring that current students have the support necessary to carry that tradition forward.
