I am a PhD candidate in Economics at the CUNY Graduate Center and a former IMF research analyst.
I study the gap between government budgets and the roads and housing that actually get built. My research uses satellite imagery and AI to measure these discrepancies directly, focusing on Egypt to show how enforcement and informal markets determine which neighborhoods grow and which get left behind.
Research Analyst • January 2020 – July 2022
I worked on public investment management in fragile and climate-vulnerable states. Led the empirical analysis that became the PIM bottlenecks paper, conducted field assessments in Grenada, Haiti, and Nepal, and developed the climate impact methodology that went into the 2020 Fiscal Monitor. The work combined diagnostic frameworks (PIMAs), cross-country empirical analysis, and on-the-ground capacity development in post-conflict settings.
Key projects: disaster-adjusted capital stock methodology for Haiti, reform sequencing analysis across low-income countries, climate-responsive infrastructure governance frameworks.
Methods: Global games, structural estimation, political economy, econometrics
This theoretical and empirical project develops an estimable global-games model of coups d’état, separating feasibility (coordination) from desirability (payoffs). We bridge economics and political science and bring the model to data to quantify the mechanisms behind coup success.
Methods: Administrative data, satellite imagery, causal inference
Combining administrative records with satellite imagery, I study Egypt’s nationwide building freeze to quantify how abrupt regulatory shocks shift formal and informal construction. The project documents adaptation margins under limited state capacity and speaks to the effectiveness and limits of enforcement-heavy regulation.
Methods: Causal inference, panel data analysis
Using contract-level procurement data and the staggered rollout of Public Investment Management Assessments (PIMAs), I estimate the causal impact of external diagnostics on procurement outcomes and efficiency, isolating changes attributable to the assessments rather than secular trends.
IMF How-To Note • January, 2025
Provides practical guidance for strengthening investment frameworks in resource-constrained settings. Identifies critical institutional bottlenecks and proposes a sequenced reform approach that accounts for capacity limitations, with concrete implementation strategies for effective infrastructure delivery.
IMF Working Paper • November, 2024
Identifies key institutional constraints limiting public investment efficiency using PIMA data and principal component analysis. Quantifies significant efficiency gaps and potential gains from targeted governance improvements.
IMF Working Paper • October, 2021
Develops an archetype-based methodology (IMF Green Tracker) to categorize fiscal measures across sectors by environmental impact and discusses green budgeting frameworks and cross-country comparability.
IMF Flagship Report (Fiscal Monitor) • October, 2020
Contributor to Chapter 2, which applies the IMF Green Tracker climate-impact assessment framework.
technical report • IMF Technical Assistance Reports • 2020–2022
Public Investment Management Assessment (PIMA) reports for Grenada, Haiti, and Nepal. Example: Grenada PIMA & C-PIMA, April 2022.
The Journal of Developing Areas • 2022
Provided research assistance for an empirical study examining the relationship between public and private investment in Pakistan, finding long-run crowding-in effects. Assisted with data collection and preliminary analysis.
IMF (Policy/Working Paper) • 2021
Contributed research support focused on infrastructure and social spending. Assisted with data gathering for frontier analysis and international benchmarking, identifying efficiency gaps linked to PIM institutions.
IMF Policy Paper • 2021
Provided research assistance for a policy paper developing a framework to integrate climate considerations into infrastructure governance.
IMF How-To Note • 2021
Supported research on how capacity constraints affect the efficiency of scaled-up investment, contributing to a diagnostic framework for assessing implementation capacity.
IMF Departmental Paper • 2021
Assisted with research examining how institutional capacity affects PPP success in infrastructure.
Reproducible extract from the European PPP Expertise Centre (EPEC) portal with aggregated public-private partnership (PPP) project data spanning 1990–2021, organized by country, sector, and year.
GeoJSON dataset mapping all cities developed by Egypt's New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) using administrative boundaries for improved research accessibility.
Comprehensive archive of Egypt's Shorouk News from January 2010 to present, providing a valuable resource for studying Egyptian media, politics, and society over time.
2025–26 2024–25 2023–24 2022–23 • Baruch College
2023–24 • Brooklyn College
2024–25 • Brooklyn College
2025–26 2024–25 • Brooklyn College