Working Paper
Unequal Global Convergence
We study how structural transformation toward high-skill services changes regional convergence around the world.
Draft →Luca Looser
PhD Candidate in Economics · Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Macro Development · Economic Geography
I study how families and geography shape structural transformation and economic development. My work combines large-scale data, quasi-experimental evidence and quantitative spatial models.
I am on the 2026–27 academic job market.
Advisors: Elisa Giannone and Dávid Krisztián Nagy.
luca.looser@upf.edu
JOB MARKET PAPER
From Roots to Branches
The Role of Families in Structural Change
Economic opportunities differ sharply across sectors and places, but family can either reinforce or ease the barriers to reaching them. Relatives in existing sectors and locations can slow reallocation, while kin in expanding sectors and at destinations can facilitate sector switching and migration.
Using reconstructed kin ties for 32 million individuals, I show that these opposing forces shaped U.S. structural change from 1880 to 1970. A dynamic spatial model quantifies how evolving kinship connections initially slowed reallocation but increasingly facilitated it over time.
OTHER RESEARCH
Research
Working Paper
The Intergenerational Consequences of a Temporary Shock
We use temporary import restrictions in Thailand to study persistent sectoral reallocation and intergenerational responses.
Abstract →Work in Progress
Inheriting Geography
Marriage and the Intergenerational Spatial Transmission of Opportunity
Children inherit not only resources from their parents but also a geography. Using linked U.S. families from 1880 to 1950, I show that marriage expands family-connected places, shapes where couples settle and changes the destinations available to the next generation.
Abstract → Paper →