MELISSA DELL
Contact Information National Bureau of Economic Research 1050 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138
Graduate Studies PhD Candidate Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2007 – present MPhil Economics, Oxford University, with Distinction, 2007
Undergraduate Studies AB Economics, Harvard University, summa cum laude, 2005.
Honors and Scholarships 2007 National Science Foundation, Graduate Research Fellowship 2007 First Place, The Econometric Game (European-wide competition, member of the Oxford team) 2006 Thomas Hoopes Prize for Senior Honors Thesis (university wide) 2005 - 2007 Rhodes Scholarship 2005 John Williams Prize – Best Undergraduate Harvard Student in Economics 2005 Seymour Harris Prize – Best Undergraduate Harvard Thesis in Economics (for “Widening the Border: The Impact of NAFTA on the Female Labor Force in Mexico”) 2005 USA Today Academic All American 1st Team 2004 Harry S. Truman Scholarship 2004 Named by Glamour Magazine as one of America’s top ten college female role models 2004 Sports Illustrated A List (for varsity track and cross-country)
Publications “The Persistent Effects of Peru’s Mining Mita.” Forthcoming, Econometrica
“Productivity Differences Within and Between Countries” (with Daron Acemoglu). American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics 2(1), January 2010.
“Temperature and Income: Reconciling New Cross-Sectional and Panel Estimates” (with Ben Jones and Ben Olken). American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings 99 (2), pp. 198-204, May 2009.
The College Matters Guide. (with Joanna Chan and Jacquelyn Kung) McGraw-Hill Inc., New York, 2004. (Book on college admissions geared towards underserved students, featured on the back-to-school display of all Barnes & Noble bookstores).
Working Papers
“Temperature Shocks and Economic Growth: Evidence from the Last Half Century” (w. Ben Jones and Ben Olken) Under Review
This paper uses historical fluctuations in temperature within countries to identify its effects on aggregate economic outcomes. We find three primary results. First, higher temperatures substantially reduce economic growth in poor countries. Second, higher temperatures appear to reduce growth rates, not just the level of output. Third, higher temperatures have wide-ranging effects, reducing agricultural and industrial output, investment, innovation, and political stability. Decade or longer warming episodes also show substantial negative effects on poor countries’ growth. These findings inform debates over climate’s role in economic development and suggest substantial negative impacts of future climate change on poor countries.
Teaching and Research Experience Sep 2009 – May 2010 Research Assistant for Professor Daron Acemoglu (MIT) July 2008, January 2009 Instructor, Graduate Geospatial Programming (MIT) Spring 2007 Instructor, Undergraduate Monetary Theory (Oxford University) Jul 2006 – Aug 2007 Research Assistant for Ben Olken (Harvard Society of Fellows)
Professional Activities Referee for Econometrica, American Economic Review, Quarterly Journal of Economics, The Review of Economics and Statistics, The Journal of Development Economics, American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, Journal of Economic Growth, The Economics of Transition, Environment and Development Economics
Invited Presentations: NBER Summer Institute (2010, discussant), Columbia University, New Frontiers in Latin American History (2010), Stanford Institute of Theoretical Economics (2009), Agency for Intelligence and National Security, Mexico (2009), City University of Hong Kong (2009), Chinese University of Hong Kong (2009), University of Warwick, UK (2009), World Bank/IZA Conference on Labor and Development (2006)
Public Service Founder (2004) and Adviser (2006 – present) – A Drop in the Ocean (www.adropintheocean.org). Non-profit organization linking university students with microfinance NGOs. Aims to help students develop skills learned in the classroom through service. Founder (2004) – The College Matters Scholarship Fund (www.communityservice.harvard.edu/programs/college- matters ). Provides scholarships and information on higher education to underserved students. Conducted impact evaluation studies for Pro Mujer Peru (2003), a microfinance NGO serving over 14,000 women, and EMCOP Peru (2004, 2005), a smaller grassroots microfinance organization.
Interests and Hobbies Ultra-distance running and triathlons (completed 100 mile and 100 km continuous runs in 2009), trail running, cycling, swimming, cultural exchange