Work in Progress
Growth, Firm Scale, and the Energy Intensity of Production
(with Kathryn McDonald and Noémie Pinardon-Touati)
We uncover a new mechanism that links growth and a decline in the energy intensity of production, observed globally since 1990. Using detailed microdata from India and a causal research design, we demonstrate that the expenditure share of energy declines steeply with firm scale, due both to physical scaling laws and technology investment. Given the fact that average firm size increases with growth, this scale dependence in energy demand implies that production endogenously becomes less energy-intensive with aggregate growth. We develop a model of this mechanism in general equilibrium, and quantify significant reductions in aggregate energy intensity as low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) like India grow. We conclude with a discussion of the future path of emissions in India.
Growth, Degrowth, and the Use of Material Resources
The use of material resources in the US grew strongly in the first part of the twentieth century, before beginning to slowly decline in per-capita terms after 1970. This “degrowth” was widespread, occurring across energy inputs, metals, construction inputs, and biological materials. I show that much of this decline came from material-augmenting technical change, spurred on by high energy prices. There is also a significant portion that is due to slowing goods expenditure with rising incomes, and a small measure from foreign trade. I discuss the possibilities for continued degrowth in material inputs in the coming century.
Under Revision
Urban-Biased Growth: A Macroeconomic Analysis
(with Fabian Eckert and Sharat Ganapati)
Journal of Political Economy, Revise and Resubmit
Clean Growth (with Costas Arkolakis)
Journal of Political Economy, Revise and Resubmit
Supplementary Material, Replication Package
The Entry Multiplier
Review of Economic Studies, Revise and Resubmit
Publications
Carbon Pricing and Inequality: A Normative Perspective
(with Saki Bigio and Diego Känzig and Pablo Sanchez)
Economic Journal, Conditionally Accepted
Are Inflationary Shocks Regressive? A Feasible Set Approach
(with John Grigsby, Felipe Del Canto and Eric Qian)
Quarterly Journal of Economics, Volume 140, Issue 4, November 2025
Replication Package
Population Growth and Firm Dynamics (with Michael Peters)
Journal of Political Economy: Macroeconomics, Accepted
Replication Package
The Economic Impacts of Clean Energy (with Costas Arkolakis)
Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Fall 2024
Online Appendix, Replication Package, Slides
Demand, Growth, and Deleveraging (with Brian Greaney)
Review of Economic Dynamics, Volume 51, December 2023
The Returns to Big City Experience: Evidence From Refugees in Denmark
(with Fabian Eckert and Mads Hejlesen)
Journal of Urban Economics, Volume 120, July 2022, 103454
The Geography of Remote Work
(with Lukas Althoff , Fabian Eckert and Sharat Ganapati)
Regional Science and Urban Economics, Volume 93, March 2022, 103770
Press Coverage: NYT, The Economist, Bloomberg, NYT: The Upshot, Marketplace Podcast, Governing Magazine
Notes and Comments
Hysteresis Implies Scale Effects
Dormant
Local Growth Policy and Misallocation