Jimena Rico-Straffon

I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Economics at the University of California, Santa Barbara. My research lies at the intersection of environmental, labor, and development economics. My Job Market Paper studies how urban piped-water shortages affect short-term labor supply, documenting heterogeneous impacts by gender and job formality. I use quasi-experimental methods and geospatial analysis to study the socioeconomic and conservation impacts of environmental policies and shocks, drawing on granular panel data from household surveys, administrative records, and remote sensing.

I am on the 2025–2026 job market and am available for interviews.