Welcome! I am a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics at the University of Chicago, where I received my Ph.D. in 2024.
I am on the 2024-2025 Job Market.
My research centers on urban economics, economic history, and development economics. I study the social and economic forces that drive regional persistence and leapfrogging, with a focus on agglomeration and technological transitions.
Please find my CV here.
Reach me at shmhsu@uchicago.edu.
Abstract: How do social divisions affect the benefits of agglomeration? While the clustering of people can enhance productivity through social interactions, divisions such as ethnic segregation and tension may limit these gains. To answer this question, I leverage an ethnic-based resettlement program that forcibly relocated 600,000 rural Chinese into compact villages in 1950s British Malaya. I find that, decades later, areas with higher resettlement had persistently higher population densities and concentrations of Chinese, driven by both the program's direct impact and internal migration. Moreover, these areas were wealthier, more industrialized, and exhibited greater labor market specialization. However, the economic benefits primarily accrued to the Chinese, while other ethnic groups saw only marginal gains when geographically integrated with the Chinese and working in non-agricultural sectors. To assess the overall impacts of the program, I estimate a quantitative spatial model that allows local agglomeration externalities to vary by sector and ethnic composition. While the resettlement increased aggregate output, the gains were insufficient to offset the welfare losses from the program's coercive nature.
Abstract: We examine the long transition from water to steam power in US manufacturing, focusing on early users of mechanical power: lumber and flour mills. Digitizing Census of Manufactures manuscripts for 1850-1880, we show that as steam costs declined, manufacturing activity grew faster in counties with less waterpower potential. This growth was driven by steam powered entrants and agglomeration, as water powered incumbents faced switching barriers from sunk costs. Estimating a dynamic model of entry and steam adoption, we find that the interaction of switching barriers and high fixed costs creates a quantitatively important and socially inefficient drag on technology adoption.
Abstract: Strategies aimed at winning the hearts and minds of local populations are increasingly considered more effective than military interventions in state-building and counterinsurgency. However, their long-term economic effects remain unclear. This paper examines the economic impacts of Myanmar's ceasefire agreements in the early 1990s, following over 30 years of civil conflict. Using difference-in-differences and triple-difference regressions, I find that economic conditions---such as nighttime light density and educational attainment---deteriorated in regions more suitable for opium cultivation compared to less suitable areas. Ethnic armed organizations in opium-suitable regions were also more likely to sign ceasefires. Anecdotal evidence suggests that these ceasefires effectively bought out non-state actors, while the high profits from the drug trade may have reduced political accountability and incentives for infrastructure investment in opium-suitable regions. To explore this mechanism, I am working on measuring infrastructure development over time using historical maps and satellite imagery.