Mariaflavia Harari

Mariaflavia Harari
  • Assistant Professor of Real Estate
  • Leonard J. Horwitz Faculty Scholar

Contact Information

  • office Address:

    428 Vance Hall
    3733 Spruce Street
    Philadelphia, PA 19104-6301

Research Interests: development economics, urban economics

Links: CV, Personal Website

Overview

EDUCATION

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), PhD, Economics–2016
Bocconi University, M.Sc. summa cum laude, Economics and Social Sciences–2009
Bocconi University, B.A. summa cum laude, Economics and Social Sciences–2007

Academic Positions Held

Assistant Professor of Real Estate, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, 2015-present

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Research

  • Mariaflavia Harari (2021), Cities in Bad Shape: Urban Geometry in India, American Economic Review, 10(8): 2377-2421, 2020..

    Abstract: The spatial layout of cities is an important feature of urban form, highlighted by urban planners but overlooked by economists. This paper investigates the causal economic implications of city shape in India. I measure cities’ geometric properties over time using satellite imagery and historical maps. I develop an instrument for urban shape based on geographic obstacles encountered by expanding cities. Compact city shape is associated with faster population growth and households display positive willingness to pay for more compact layouts. Transit accessibility is an important channel. Land use regulations can contribute to deteriorating city shape.  

  • Mariaflavia Harari and Guido Tabellini “The Effect of Culture on the Functioning of Institutions: Evidence from European Regions”, CESifo DICE Report 1/2009, forthcoming in Harrison, L. and E. Yasin, eds. “Culture Matters II: Focus on Russia”, New York: Lexington Books.

  • Mariaflavia Harari (2019), Women’s Inheritance Rights and Bargaining Power: Evidence from Kenya, Economic Development and Cultural Change, 2019, Vol. 68 (1), pp. 189-238.

    Abstract: This paper investigates the human capital effects of a legal reform granting Kenyan women equal inheritance rights. I employ a difference-in-differences strategy, exploiting variation in pre-reform inheritance rights across religious groups. I find that women exposed to the reform are more educated, less likely to undergo genital mutilation, more likely to receive prenatal care, and that they delay marriage and childbearing. They also tend to participate more in family decisions, suggesting improved bargaining power as the main channel. These findings suggest that legal recognition of women's inheritance rights can be beneficial for women even in contexts of poor enforcement.

  • Mariaflavia Harari and Maisy Wong, Slum Upgrading and Long-run Urban Development: Evidence from Indonesia.

    Abstract: Developing countries face massive urbanization under weak property rights. Slum upgrading is a popular policy to improve shelter for many, but preserving slums at the expense of formal developments may entail future opportunity costs. We investigate these dynamic inefficiency concerns by estimating the long-term impacts of the 1969-1984 KIP program, which provided basic upgrades to 5 million residents in Jakarta, Indonesia. We assemble high resolution data on program boundaries and current outcomes, including novel photographs based slum indexes. Among historical slums, KIP areas today have on average 15% lower land values, 50% fewer high-rises, and are more informal, consistent with delayed formalization. A boundary discontinuity design yields similar results. Surplus calculations show heterogeneous opportunity costs, with 90% of the losses concentrated in half of the program areas, where land values are high. Elsewhere, KIP delivers sizable surplus. Our exercise informs the debate on whether to upgrade or formalize slums as cities expand.

  • Mariaflavia Harari (2018), Conflict, Climate and Cells: a Disaggregated Analysis, (joint with Eliana La Ferrara), Review of Economics and Statistics, 2018, Vol. 100 (4), pp. 594-608.

    Abstract: We conduct a disaggregated empirical analysis of civil conflict at the subnational level in Africa over 1997-2011 using a new gridded dataset. We construct an original measure of agriculture-relevant weather shocks exploiting within-year variation in weather and in crop growing season, and spatial variation in crop cover. Temporal and spatial spillovers in conflict are addressed through spatial econometric techniques. Negative shocks occurring during the growing season of local crops affect conflict incidence persistently, and local conflict spills over to neighboring cells. We use our estimates to trace the dynamic response to shocks and predict how future warming may affect violence.  

Teaching

All Courses

  • FNCE2090 - Real Estate Investments

    This course provides an introduction to real estate with a focus on investment and financing issues. Project evaluation, financing strategies, investment decision making and real estate capital markets are covered. No prior knowledge of the industry is required, but students are expected to rapidly acquire a working knowledge of real estate markets. Classes are conducted in a standard lecture format with discussion required. The course contains cases that help students evaluate the impact of more complex financing and capital markets tools used in real estate. There are case studies and two midterms, (depending on instructor).

  • FNCE7210 - Real Estate Investments

    This course provides an introduction to real estate with a focus on investment and financing issues. Project evaluation, financing strategies, investment decision making and capital markets are covered. No prior knowledge of the industry is required, but students are expected to rapidly acquire a working knowledge of real estate markets. Classes are conducted in a standard lecture format with discussion required. The course contains cases that help students evaluate the impact of more complex financing and capital markets tools used in real estate. Lecture with discussion required.

  • REAL2090 - Real Estate Investments

    This course provides an introduction to real estate with a focus on investment and financing issues. Project evaluation, financing strategies, investment decision making and real estate capital markets are covered. No prior knowledge of the industry is required, but students are expected to rapidly acquire a working knowledge of real estate markets. Classes are conducted in a standard lecture format with discussion required. The course contains cases that help students evaluate the impact of more complex financing and capital markets tools used in real estate. There are case studies and two midterms, (depending on instructor).

  • REAL7210 - Real Estate Investments

    This course provides an introduction to real estate with a focus on investment and financing issues. Project evaluation, financing strategies, investment decision making and capital markets are covered. No prior knowledge of the industry is required, but students are expected to rapidly acquire a working knowledge of real estate markets. Classes are conducted in a standard lecture format with discussion required. The course contains cases that help students evaluate the impact of more complex financing and capital markets tools used in real estate. Lecture with discussion required.

In the News

Knowledge at Wharton

Activity

Latest Research

Mariaflavia Harari (2021), Cities in Bad Shape: Urban Geometry in India, American Economic Review, 10(8): 2377-2421, 2020..
All Research

In the News

How Inheritance Rights Changed the Lives of Kenyan Women

A law that granted inheritance rights to Kenyan women resulted in greater empowerment and gains in their levels of education and health.Read More

Knowledge at Wharton - 11/23/2016
All News