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 dynamics, with a focus on agglomeration and technological transitions.
Please find my CV here.
Reach me at shmhsu@uchicago.edu.
Abstract: While the clustering of people can raise productivity through social interactions, social divisions such as ethnic segregation and tension may limit these benefits. I study how such divisions shape the gains from agglomeration, leveraging an ethnic-based resettlement program in 1950s British Malaya that forcibly relocated 600,000 rural Chinese into villages across the country. I find that areas with higher resettlement remained more densely populated and had higher Chinese population shares decades later, driven by both the program and subsequent migration. Moreover, these areas were wealthier and more industrialized, with greater labor market specialization. However, the economic benefits were concentrated among the Chinese population. Other ethnic groups saw only marginal gains when employed outside agriculture. Evidence suggests that segregation and deeper cultural and linguistic barriers hindered cross-ethnic spillovers. To evaluate the aggregate effects of resettlement, I estimate a quantitative spatial model allowing agglomeration externalities to vary by sector and ethnic composition. While resettlement raised total output, the economic gains did not outweigh the welfare losses from forced relocation.
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 focused on winning the hearts and minds of local populations are increasingly viewed as more effective than military interventions in state-building and counterinsurgency. However, their long-term economic effects are not well understood. This paper examines the economic consequences 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 after a ceasefire was signed, economic conditions such as nighttime light density and educational attainment deteriorated in areas more suitable for opium cultivation compared to less suitable areas within ceasefire zones. Anecdotal evidence suggests that, following the ceasefires, the central government and ethnic armed organizations may have prioritized control and extraction in the opium economy over investments in public goods essential for sustainable growth. To investigate this channel, I am collecting historical data on road construction from maps and satellite imagery.