Welcome
Dany Bahar, PhD
An economist working at the intersection of rigorous academic research and real-world policy impact, creating evidence and translating it into economic policy.
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Coming 2028
The Next Big Shift
How Migration Will Redefine Power in the 21st Century
Dany Bahar
University of Chicago Press
Forthcoming Book
The Next Big Shift
How Migration Will Redefine Power in the 21st Century
University of Chicago Press, 2028
A deep exploration of how human migration is reshaping global economics, politics, and the balance of power in the modern world.
Academic Work
Featured Publications
Refugees' Economic Integration
Dany Bahar · Rebecca Brough · Giovanni Peri
This paper provides a comprehensive review of the academic literature on refugee economic integration, examining labor market outcomes, policy interventions, and the factors that facilitate or hinder successful integration of refugees into host economies.
Protecting the Vulnerable: How Migrant Regularization Reduces Crime and Empowers Women
Ana María Ibáñez · Sandra V. Rozo · Dany Bahar · María José Urbina
This paper examines the impacts of a regularization program that granted temporary economic rights to over 281,000 undocumented Venezuelan forced migrants in Colombia. The program resulted in a general reduction in crimes committed by forced migrants, while also increasing the number of domestic abuse and sex crimes female migrants reported.
A Model for Refugee Integration
Dany Bahar
This commentary examines private hosting and sponsorship as promising alternatives for refugee integration in an era of scaling back government support, discussing evidence from Germany's response to Ukrainian displacement.
Not a Border Crisis, but a Labor Market Crisis: The Often Overlooked Pull Factor in US Border Crossings
Dany Bahar
This study investigates the link between Southwest U.S. border crossings and labor market tightness, measured by the job openings to unemployed ratio, over nearly 25 years (2000 to 2024). Analyzing monthly data, it finds a strong positive correlation, suggesting that increased border crossings strongly align with greater job availability.
Global Mobile Inventors
Dany Bahar · Prithwiraj Choudhury · Ernest Miguelez · Sara Signorelli
We study the global mobility patterns of inventors using patent data, examining how inventor migration affects innovation outcomes in both origin and destination countries.
Migration and Knowledge Diffusion: The Effect of Returning Refugees on Export Performance in the Former Yugoslavia
Dany Bahar · Andreas Hauptmann · Cem Özgüzel · Hillel Rapoport
Using the Yugoslav Wars as a natural experiment, we study how returning refugees affect the export structure of their home countries through the knowledge and skills they acquired abroad.
Innovation on Wings: Nonstop Flights and Firm Innovation in the Global Context
Dany Bahar · Prithwiraj Choudhury · Do Yoon Kim · Wesley Koo
We study whether, when, and how better connectivity through nonstop flights leads to positive innovation outcomes for firms in the global context, finding that a 10% increase in nonstop flights increases citations by 3.4% and collaborations by 1.4%.
Refugee Entrepreneurship: The Case of Venezuelans in Colombia
Dany Bahar · Bo Cowgill · Jorge Guzman
Using the entire Colombian business registry, we characterize firms owned by foreigners (primarily Venezuelan refugees) compared to firms owned by locals, finding they are more capitalized but have similar survival rates.
Refugees, Trade, and FDI
Dany Bahar · Christopher Parsons · Pierre-Louis Vézina
This article reviews how refugees foster international trade and cross-border investment between their countries of resettlement and origin, discussing mechanisms, evidence, and policies for engaging refugee diasporas.
Does Birthplace Diversity Affect Economic Complexity? Cross-country Evidence
Dany Bahar · Hillel Rapoport · Riccardo Turati
We study how the diversity of birthplaces in a country's population affects its economic complexity, finding that immigration-driven diversity is associated with more sophisticated export baskets.
Give Me Your Tired and Your Poor: Impact of a Large-Scale Amnesty Program for Undocumented Refugees
Dany Bahar · Ana María Ibáñez · Sandra V. Rozo
We study the effects of Colombia's large-scale amnesty program for Venezuelan refugees on labor market outcomes, finding significant improvements in formal employment and wages for beneficiaries.
Migrant Inventors and the Technological Advantage of Nations
Dany Bahar · Prithwiraj Choudhury · Hillel Rapoport
We document how migrant inventors contribute to the technological advantage of their destination countries, showing that countries gain comparative advantage in technologies where their immigrant inventors have expertise.
The Hardships of Long Distance Relationships: Time Zone Proximity and the Location of MNC's Knowledge-Intensive Activities
Dany Bahar
I study how time zone differences affect where multinational corporations locate their knowledge-intensive activities, finding that real-time collaboration needs lead firms to concentrate R&D in time-zone-proximate locations.
Diasporas and Economic Development: A Review of the Evidence and Policy
Dany Bahar
This paper reviews the academic literature on the economic effects of diasporas on their home countries, examining channels such as remittances, trade, investment, and knowledge transfer.
Export Take-offs and Acceleration: Unpacking Cross-sector Linkages in the Evolution of Comparative Advantage
Dany Bahar · Samuel Rosenow · Ernesto Stein · Rodrigo Wagner
We study how countries develop new export industries, finding that cross-sector linkages and knowledge spillovers play a key role in the evolution of comparative advantage.
Measuring Knowledge Intensity in Manufacturing Industries: A New Approach
Dany Bahar
This paper proposes a new methodology for measuring knowledge intensity across manufacturing industries using patent and trade data.
Migration, Knowledge Diffusion and the Comparative Advantage of Nations
Dany Bahar · Hillel Rapoport
We document that countries are more likely to become exporters of products in which their immigrant populations have expertise, providing evidence that migration is a key channel for international knowledge diffusion.
Fool's Gold: The Impact of Venezuelan Currency Devaluations on Multinational Stock Prices
Dany Bahar · Carlos A. Molina · Miguel A. Santos
We study how Venezuelan currency devaluations affected the stock prices of multinational companies with operations in Venezuela, documenting significant negative effects on firm value.
The Middle Productivity Trap: Dynamics of Productivity Dispersion
Dany Bahar
This paper documents the existence of a 'middle productivity trap' where firms at intermediate productivity levels face particular challenges in upgrading their capabilities.
One More Resource Curse: Dutch Disease and Export Concentration
Dany Bahar · Miguel A. Santos
We study how resource abundance leads to export concentration through Dutch Disease mechanisms, documenting that resource-rich countries tend to have less diversified export baskets.
Neighbors and the Evolution of the Comparative Advantage of Nations: Evidence of International Knowledge Diffusion?
Dany Bahar · Ricardo Hausmann · César A. Hidalgo
We document that countries are more likely to develop comparative advantage in products that are exported by their geographic neighbors, suggesting that proximity facilitates knowledge diffusion.
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Available for media interviews, speaking engagements, policy consultations, and academic collaborations.