Emilio Depetris-Chauvin

IEA Featured Economist · Oct 2022

Welcome

I am an Associate Professor and Research Director at the Department of Economics, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

I am also an Associate Editor at the Journal of Comparative Economics and a Research Fellow at IZA (Institute of Labor Economics).

My research interests lie in political economy, economic development, and economic growth, with particular attention to understanding the causes and consequences of conflict and violence. My work has been published in the American Economic Review, AEJ: Applied Economics, Journal of Economic Growth, The Economic Journal, Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Public Economics, and Economics Letters.

Forthcoming Seminars

27 Oct 2026University of Luxembourg
Nov 2026LACEA–LAMES 2026 — Lima, Peru
Nov 2026The Economics of Social Conflict: Historical Insights and New Evidence — FEN, Universidad de Chile

Recent Seminars

27 Aug 2026SECHI 2026
14 Jul 2026UTDT — Economics
18–20 May 2026RIDGE May Forum — University of the West Indies, Barbados
22 Dec 2025Alumni Workshop, Universidad de San Andrés
15 Oct 2025University of Naples Parthenope
9 Oct 2025Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
1 Oct 2025Nova School of Business and Economics — Lisbon
29 Sep 2025Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
25 Sep 2025CUNEF — Madrid
24 Sep 2025ICADE — Madrid

Research

Publications

The Political Consequences of Vaccines: Quasi-experimental Evidence from Eligibility Rules

with Felipe González

Journal of Development Economics, Vol. 182, June 2026

Paper Pre-Analysis Plan

Party Politics, Inter-jurisdictional Cooperation and Law Enforcement: Evidence from Mexico

with Ruben Durante and Emilio Gutierrez

Journal of Public Economics, Vol. 252, December 2025

Paper

(De facto) Historical Ethnic Borders and Land Tenure in Sub-Saharan Africa

with Ömer Özak

Economics Letters, Vol. 243, October 2024

When a Strike Strikes Twice: Massive Student Mobilizations and Teenage Pregnancy in Chile

with Pablo Celhay and M. Cristina Riquelme

Journal of Development Economics, Vol. 170, September 2024

Paper

The Virus of Fear: The Political Impact of Ebola in the US

with Filipe Campante and Ruben Durante

AEJ: Applied Economics, Vol. 16, No. 1, January 2024, pp. 480–509

Paper NBER WP 26897

Media: NYT · El Diario · Niskanen Center · Nexo · Tucson.com · Livemint

The Origins of the Division of Labor in Pre-Industrial Times

with Ömer Özak

Journal of Economic Growth, Vol. 25, September 2020, pp. 297–340

Paper

Building Nations Through Shared Experiences: Evidence from African Football

with Filipe Campante and Ruben Durante

American Economic Review, Vol. 110, May 2020, pp. 1572–1602

Paper Corrigendum

Media: The Economist · AEA Research Highlight · Bloomberg · dinheirovivo · AFP · NBER Digest · VoxDev

Unexpected Guests: The Impact of Internal Displacement Inflows on Rental Prices in Colombian Host Communities

with Rafael Santos †

Journal of Development Economics, Vol. 134, September 2018, pp. 289–309

Paper

Malaria and Early African Development: Evidence from Sickle Cell Trait

with David N. Weil

The Economic Journal, Vol. 128, Issue 610, May 2018, pp. 1207–1234

Paper NBER WP 19603

Media: Georgetown Public Policy Review · Royal Economic Society

Fear of Obama: An Empirical Study of the Demand for Guns and the US 2008 Presidential Election

Journal of Public Economics, Vol. 130, October 2015, pp. 66–79

Paper

Media: US News · Marginal Revolution · Boston Globe · National Affairs · Psychology Today · Vox

Working Papers

Fear as a Campaign Tool: Evidence from the 2014 U.S. Ebola Scare (with Filipe Campante and Ruben Durante) — NBER Working Paper 35660
State History and Contemporary Conflict: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa — new version coming soon
Followed by Violence: Forced Immigration and Homicides (with Rafael Santos †) — new version in progress
(De facto) Historical Ethnic Borders and Conflict in Africa (with Ömer Özak) — new version in progress

Work in Progress

Ethnic Discrimination During the Impressionable Years (with Ömer Özak)
Social Cohesion at the Border (with Ömer Özak)
The Life of Others: Explaining Differences in News Coverages of Human Losses on U.S. Media (with Filipe Campante and Ruben Durante)
Who Fights the Culture War? Economic Distress and Symbolic Politics in Spanish Municipalities (with Filipe Campante and Ruben Durante)
Chop for Territory: Ethnic Boundaries and Deforestation (with Felipe Jordan and Javiera Muñoz)

Book Chapters

One Team, One Nation: Football, Identity and Conflict in Africa · In Nation Building: Big Lessons from Successes and Failures, Dominic Rohner and Ekaterina Zhuravskaya (Eds.), CEPR, 2023