Contact Information
Department of Economics
Northwestern University
2211 Campus Drive
Evanston, IL 60208
Phone: 872-203-2588
E-mail: lmosillo@u.northwestern.edu
Link to Personal Website
Education
Ph.D., Economics, Northwestern University, 2026 (expected)
M.A. , Economics, Northwestern University, 2021
M.Sc., Economics and Social Sciences, Bocconi University, 2019
B.Sc., Economics and Social Sciences, Bocconi University, 2016.
Primary Fields of Specialization
Development Economics, Energy Economics
Secondary Fields of Specialization
Applied Microeconomics
Curriculum Vitae
Job Market Paper
The Inequitable Impact of Equal Rationing: The Case of Load Shedding in South Africa
This paper examines how the unreliability of the electrical grid affects economic inequality by analyzing
the effects of South Africa’s system of rotating power outage implemented between 2019 and 2024.
Using a novel methodology that matches daily satellite luminosity data with outages schedules, I find that
areas with the highest concentration of low-income households experience an additional 28% decrease in
nighttime luminosity during power outages compared to the wealthiest areas. This differential exists
despite equal exposure to outages across the income distribution. Consistent with richer households
adapting to power outages by installing fuel-operated generators, I show that the differential impact is
reduced when oil prices increase.
Other Research Papers
Black-White Income Inequality During Jim Crow: Evidence from ‘Passing’ for White
with Ricardo Dahis, Emily Nix, Nancy Qian
This paper documents several new facts about racial discrimination from 1910-1940 in the United States.
Exposure to racial discrimination was positively associated with some Black men taking on White
identities, resulting in large income gains and economic mobility. However, this imposed high social
costs; beyond the loss of one’s Black identity, passing for White was associated with higher separation
rates from a person’s community and family. Using the income gains from passing, we estimate that
removing contemporaneous labor market discrimination would have increased the Black-to-White income
ratio by at least 16 percentage points.
Does Gender Influence Migrant Reception? Evidence from Italy
This study examines whether the presence of women in local government influences attitudes toward
migrant reception. Using data from the European Social Survey, I document that women view migration
as more economically threatening than men, though they are more supportive of welcoming refugees.
To identify causal effects, I exploit the exogenous variation in female representation created by Italy’s
2012 gender quota law (Law 215/2012), which required municipal candidate lists to include at least onethird
women in municipalities over 5,000 residents. Using a difference-in-difference and an instrumental
variables approach, I show that a one standard deviation increase in women’s council representation
increases the probability of bidding for refugee centers by 77%. This suggests that despite women’s
greater concern about migration’s economic impact, their preference for supporting vulnerable populations
dominates in policy decisions.
Teaching
Download Teaching Evaluations (PDF)
Kellogg School of Management
Statistical Decision Analysis, Executive MBA – Prof. Qian, Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Fall 2024
Big Data Advanced Analytics Workshop, MBA – Prof. Qian, Winter 2024
Northwestern University
Introduction to Microeconomics, Undergraduate – Prof. Hernandez, Fall 2021, Winter 2022
Economics of State and Local Governments, Undergraduate – Prof. Vannutelli, Spring 2022
Economics of Education Policy, Undergraduate – Prof. Malamud, Spring 2023
References
Prof. Nancy Qian (Committee Chair)
Prof. Christopher Udry
Prof. Lori Beaman