ALEX SEGURA

asegura@fas.harvard.edu

HARVARD UNIVERSITY

Office Contact Information

Littauer Center 200
Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Cell phone number: +1-312-404-9014

Graduate Studies:
Harvard University, 2012 to present
Ph.D. Candidate in Business Economics
Expected Completion Date: June 2018

Undergraduate Studies:
BA in Economics with High Distinction, Indiana University, Summa Cum Laude, 2009
Minor in Mathematics and Certificate in African Studies, Indiana University, 2009

Teaching and Research Fields:

Primary fields: Development Economics, International Trade
Secondary field: Public Finance

Teaching Experience:
Fall 2015 PED-309: Development Policy Analysis (graduate), Harvard Kennedy
School
(Teaching Fellow for Professor Ricardo Hausmann)

Fall 2008 E201: Introduction to Microeconomics (undergraduate), Indiana

Spring 2009 University
(Undergraduate Instructor for Professor Peter Olson)

Research Experience and Other Employment:

2014 The World Bank, Macroeconomics and Fiscal Management Global
Practice Group, Consultant
2010-2012 Innovations for Poverty Action Uganda, Project Associate
2009 Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Economic Research Analyst

Professional Activities:
Referee for the Journal of Development Economics

Honors, Scholarships, and Fellowships:

 2014 Private Enterprise Development in Low-Income countries (PEDL),
Exploratory Research Grant, “Currency Devaluations and Industrial
Development,” $10,700
2012 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
2009 Indiana University Department of Economics, Moffat Scholarship Award,
$200
2008 Indiana University Department of Economics, Undergraduate
Achievement Award, $200
2008 Phi Beta Kappa
2007 Indiana University Hutton Honors College, International Experiences
Grant, Semester of study in Senegal, $2000

Research Papers:

“Informal Tradables and the Employment Growth of Indian Manufacturing” (with Ejaz Ghani
and William Kerr)

Abstract: India’s manufacturing growth from 1989 to 2010 displays two intriguing properties: 1)
a substantial fraction of absolute and net employment growth is concentrated in informal tradable
industries, and 2) much of this growth is connected to the development of one-person
establishments. This paper investigates the causes and determinants of these growth patterns. The
rapid urbanization of the informal sector plays the strongest role, while there is some evidence
for subcontracting by the formal sector and a “push” entrepreneurship story. The paper also finds
modest connections of this growth to rising female labor force participation. The connection
between the presence of informal manufacturing and local productivity levels is strong, and
varies across urban and rural areas in ways that bolster urbanization and subcontracting
hypotheses.

Research in Progress:

“Currency Devaluations and Economic Development: Firm-Level Evidence from Ethiopia” (with
Eduardo Montero and Andualem Tandish)

“Currency Fluctuations and Industrial Development: Firm-Level Evidence from Indonesia”

“How Do Informal Sector Manufacturing Firms Respond to Formal Sector Output Shocks:
Evidence from India” (with Stephen O’Connell and Martin Rotemberg)

“The Impact of Education and Wage Increases on Manufacturing Growth in Indonesia” (with
Martin Rotemberg and Abdullah Al-Sabah)

“The Impact of the 1992 ‘Black Wednesday’ British Pound Devaluation on British Exporters and
Importers” (with Sebastian Bustos and Martin Rotemberg)
Languages and Citizenship:
Languages: English (native), French (beginner)
Citizenship: USA, Spain

Work/Living Experience Abroad:

Senegal, India, Uganda, Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia