L. Guillermo Woo-Mora

Economics PhD student at Paris School of Economics (PSE)


guillermo.woo-mora [at] psemail.eu
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Research

Working Papers

Infrastructures of Race? Colonial Indigenous Segregation and Contemporary Urban Sorting with Luis Baldomero-Quintana and Enrique de la Rosa-Ramos.
Revise and Resubmit at Regional Science and Urban Economics.

Abstract
We study the impacts of a colonial segregation policy on modern-day spatial population patterns and residential sorting by human capital in Mexican cities. After the Conquest, the Spanish aimed to segregate Indigenous individuals into settlements called Pueblos de Indios. While the segregation policy lasted until the end of the colonial era, we use present-day census data at the block level on population, schooling, and access to medical services to understand the persistent effects of pueblos on the within-city structure. First, we document a spatial non-monotonic correlation between the location of the pueblos and population deagglomerations. Second, we study the causal impact of the pueblos on sorting by human capital by exploiting quasi-experimental variation created by pueblos’ catchment area defined by colonial laws. Using a Regression Discontinuity Design, we find a slight increase in the blocks’ share of households lacking access to medical services near the boundary of all pueblos. We further exploit the degree of success of the policy: it effectively isolated the Indigenous population only in a fraction of the settlements. We show that blocks near the pueblos where the segregation policy was successful experience discontinuities on the blocks’ measures of schooling of minus 0.38 years and the blocks’ share of individuals with no access to medical services of 2.2 percentage points. Worse urban amenities and lower land prices explain our results. Our findings show that colonial segregation institutions have had persistent impacts for centuries on urban sorting, even when the originally targeted group becomes a very small share of the modern-day population.


Sir Alec Cairncross Prize Runner Up - Scottish Econometric Society 2022
Arthur H. Cole Grant of the Economic History Association


Skin Tone Penalties: Bottom-up Discrimination in Football with Donia Kamel.

Abstract
This paper investigates colorism, racial discrimination based on skin color, in men's football. Firstly, using machine learning algorithms, we extract players' skin tones from online headshots to examine their impact on fan-based ratings and valuations. We find evidence of a skin tone penalty, where darker-skinned players face lower fan-driven market values and ratings. Secondly, using algorithm-based ratings and employing a Difference-in-Discontinuities design with geolocated penalty kicks data, we show that lighter-skinned players enjoy a premium higher by one standard deviation than their darker-skinned peers, conditional on scoring a penalty. Additionally, we find evidence that non-native players with dark skin face a double penalty. Leveraging the COVID-19 pandemic as a natural experiment, we highlight the role of fans' stadium attendance in algorithm-based results. The findings underscore direct skin tone discrimination in football and highlight fans' role in perpetuating algorithmic bias.



Unveiling the Cosmic Race: Skin Tone and Ethnoracial Inequalities in Latin America.

WIL Working Paper

Abstract
I use data on skin tone, ethnoracial identities, and income to study Latin America's ethnoracial inequalities. First, I present stylized facts on ethnoracial identity formation: skin tone and language shape identity choices. Second, I provide evidence of a skin tone premium. In an eleven-color palette, each darker shade in skin tone on average leads to a 3% decrease in income, with heterogeneity across countries. My analysis suggests that racial discrimination is the primary mechanism. Finally, I estimate the economic development consequences of racial inequality. National and subnational regions with higher income inequality between racial groups have worse economic development.


Coverage: 5 papers…in 5 minutes! (en, fr), WIL Press release (en), Nexos (es).


Moral Force: Leaders’ Actions and Social Distancing with María Montoya-Aguirre and Federico Daverio-Occhini.

UNDP LAC Working Paper

Abstract
In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders' actions can influence whether individuals stay at home or ignore social distancing orders. Mexican president López Obrador held public events in different states of the country during the health emergency. This paper studies whether his example of contravening social distancing recommendations increases mobility rates. Using mobility data from UNDP-GRANDATA and a generalized event study design, we find that AMLO's public appearances increased mobility rates in the municipalities of the states he visited in the days following the events. Furthermore, using electoral data from the 2018 presidential election, we also find that mobility rates increase in municipalities where his political support is high after the president's events. We find that media coverage is the primary mechanism driving our results. Lastly, in the pandemic's advanced stages, the president's example does not affect mobility. The results suggest that leaders' actions are relevant to influence decisions when individuals have limited information.


Coverage: Este País (es).


Populism’s original sin: Economic and distributional consequences of populist policy in Mexico

Abstract
This paper analyses the consequences of a populist policy in Mexico. As president-elect, López Obrador held an unofficial referendum with less than 1% turnout to halt Mexico City’s New International Airport (NAIM) construction. I use synthetic control to show a populist penalty on GDP minus 3% one year after the cancellation, before Covid-19. I provide prediction bounds for the periods after Covid-19 and show the heterogeneous regional effects. The fall in consumption and investment explains the effect. I also show that from 2018 to 2021, GDP per capita has fallen by 10%. Income data suggest that most households are affected, while there is no effect for the wealthiest. The abuse of public power to legitimize populists socializes economic losses.


Premio Manuel Espinosa Yglesias - Centro de Estudios Espinosa Yglesias (CEEY)

Coverage: Este País (es).


Work in Progress

On the Other Side of the River: The Persistence of Ethno-Racial Colonial Segregation on Within Sorting Patterns

Draft coming soon!

Honorific Mention Fernando Rosenzweig Prize Graduate Thesis – Mexican Economic History Association 2021
Best Graduate Thesis in Applied Economics – CIDE 2020

Coverage: Territorio (es).


Preferences for Redistribution in the Land of Inequalities: Experimental and Observational Evidence from Mexico
with Eva O. Arceo-Gómez and Hernán Bejarano

First Place Undergraduate Thesis – Citibanamex Economics Prize 2019


The Effects of Corruption in Funds for Infrastructure and Social Spending on Municipal Poverty
with María Montoya-Aguirre and Eduardo Ortiz-Juárez

First Place – Mexico’s National Prize of Public Finance 2020.