Hello !
I am an economic theorist, with a focus on information economics and dynamic games.
I recently completed my PhD at Columbia University, and I will be a Postdoctoral Prize Research Fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford starting in September 2025.
Research
Publications
- The Dynamics of Instability
Short abstract
Even if pure instability does not generate any short term expected gains, players with opposed interests can leverage it to obtain long term changes. In equilibrium, the least favored player uses instability in a decreasing manner as we get closer to a stable state; long run outcome exhibit path dependency and can sustain high inequity.
with Duarte Gonçalves, Theoretical Economics 19 (2024), 365–405
- A Mean-Field Game Model for the Evolution of Cities
Short abstract
We propose a MFG model for the evolution of residents and firms densities, coupled both by labour market equilibrium conditions and competition for land use; the former induces a new optimal transport coupling in the system of two HJB and two Fokker-Planck equations. This MFG has a convex potential which enables us to find weak solutions by a variational approach. In the case of quadratic Hamiltonians, we reformulate the problem in Lagrangian terms and develop a numerical solution method.
with Guillaume Carlier and Jean-Michel Lasry, Journal of Dynamics and Games, July 2021, 8(3): 299-329.
additional figures
Working Papers
- When and what to learn in a changing world
Abstract
A decision-maker periodically acquires information about a changing state, controlling both the timing and content of updates. I characterize optimal policies using a decomposition of the dynamic problem into optimal stopping and static information acquisition problems. Eventually, information acquisition either stops or follows a simple cycle, with updates occurring at regular intervals and leading to consistent certainty levels; this enables precise characterizations of long run information acquisition across environments. In the limit as fixed costs vanish it is optimal to trade-off quality for frequency; surprisingly, this entails that both belief and action changes become lumpier. I highlight applications to portfolio diversification and asymmetries between safe and risky choices.
- Ancestral origins of attention to environmental issues
Abstract
How does the climatic experience of previous generations affect today’s attention to environmental questions? Using self-reported beliefs and environmental themes in folklore, we show empirically that the realized intensity of deviations from typical climate conditions in ancestral generations influences how much descendants care about the environment. The effect exhibits a U-shape where more stable and more unstable ancestral climates lead to higher attention today, with a dip for intermediate realizations. We propose a theoretical framework where the value of costly attention to environmental conditions depends on the perceived stability of the environment, prior beliefs about which are shaped through cultural transmission by the experience of ethnic ancestors. The U-shape is rationalized by a double purpose of learning about the environment: optimal utilization of typical conditions and protection against extreme events.
with Palaash Bhargava
Work in progress
- Dynamic information acquisition with memory loss
Abstract
Does memory loss lead to more or less information acquisition? When information may be forgotten before it can be used to make decisions, the marginal value of an individual signal is subject to two opposite forces: it decreases since it is less likely to improve decisions and improves since having more information may improve overall retention. This leads to asymmetric distortions in sequential optimal information acquisition: memory loss leads to lower standards for information that confirms the status quo but over-confirmation for information that contradicts it.
with Arslan Ali.
Older works
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Stability with complementarities in decentralized many-to-one matching markets
Masters Thesis, M2 APE, Paris School of Economics, 2019
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Optimal transport coupling in multi-population mean field games
Masters Thesis, M2 Mathematiques de la Modelisation, UPMC Jussieu, 2018
Teaching
Instructor
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Game Theory (Summer 2022, Summer 2023)
Undergraduate Elective, Columbia University
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MA Math Camp (Summer 2021)
Economics MA, Columbia University
Course Page
Teaching Assistant
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MA Microeconomics (Spring 2023)
Economics MA, Columbia University
Teaching Assistant for Professor Guillaume Haeringer
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PhD Microeconomic Analysis II (Spring 2022)
Economics PhD, Columbia University
Teaching Assistant for Professors Yeon-Koo Che and Elliot Lipnowski
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Math Methods for Economists (Fall 2021)
Economics MA, Columbia University
Teaching Assistant for Professor Evan Sadler
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Math Methods for Economists (Fall 2020)
Economics MA, Columbia University
Teaching Assistant for Professor Ceyhun Elgin