Ana Isabel López
@anaisgarcia.bsky.social
Assistant Professor @maastrichtu.bsky.social @fasosmaastricht.bsky.social | Migration | development politics | political economy | Latin America and the Caribbean
maastrichtuniversity.nl/ai-lopez-garcia
maastrichtuniversity.nl/ai-lopez-garcia
Pinned
Ana Isabel López
@anaisgarcia.bsky.social
· Sep 30
Taxing the wealthy in Haiti: Evidence from a conjoint experiment on property tax preferences
How can we build support for taxation among the wealthy in fragile conflict-afflicted countries? Haiti, one of the poorest and most unequal societies …
www.sciencedirect.com
Why would anyone pay #taxes where disasters strike, gangs rule and the state barely functions? Our work in Haiti shows that even amid crisis, the affluent support taxation through social recognition and trusted intermediaries (with Sarah Berens) @WorldDevJournal www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Ana Isabel López
With @jeromevalette.bsky.social & Jesús Fernández-Huertas Moraga, we are happy to announce the CfPapers for the
4th edition of the Junior Workshop on the Economics of Migration
on May 26-27, 2026 @uc3meconomics.bsky.social, Spain.
Submit until February 1, 2026 on economig2026.sciencesconf.org
With @jeromevalette.bsky.social & Jesús Fernández-Huertas Moraga, we are happy to announce the CfPapers for the
4th edition of the Junior Workshop on the Economics of Migration
on May 26-27, 2026 @uc3meconomics.bsky.social, Spain.
Submit until February 1, 2026 on economig2026.sciencesconf.org
November 24, 2025 at 9:27 AM
With @jeromevalette.bsky.social & Jesús Fernández-Huertas Moraga, we are happy to announce the CfPapers for the
4th edition of the Junior Workshop on the Economics of Migration
on May 26-27, 2026 @uc3meconomics.bsky.social, Spain.
Submit until February 1, 2026 on economig2026.sciencesconf.org
With @jeromevalette.bsky.social & Jesús Fernández-Huertas Moraga, we are happy to announce the CfPapers for the
4th edition of the Junior Workshop on the Economics of Migration
on May 26-27, 2026 @uc3meconomics.bsky.social, Spain.
Submit until February 1, 2026 on economig2026.sciencesconf.org
Even without violence, organized crime undermines the state. In Mexico, municipalities under criminal control see falling trust, weaker revenues, and growing dependence on central funds. (with @seunghunlee0918.bsky.social) @unu-wider.bsky.social doi.org/10.35188/UNU...
UNU-WIDER : Working Paper : The illusion of criminal 'order': institutional trust and municipal finances in Mexico
Do criminal groups which help maintain order strengthen the fiscal contract or weaken it? This paper examines how the presence of organized-crime groups shapes Mexican municipalities’ ability to colle...
doi.org
October 23, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Even without violence, organized crime undermines the state. In Mexico, municipalities under criminal control see falling trust, weaker revenues, and growing dependence on central funds. (with @seunghunlee0918.bsky.social) @unu-wider.bsky.social doi.org/10.35188/UNU...
Why would anyone pay #taxes where disasters strike, gangs rule and the state barely functions? Our work in Haiti shows that even amid crisis, the affluent support taxation through social recognition and trusted intermediaries (with Sarah Berens) @WorldDevJournal www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Taxing the wealthy in Haiti: Evidence from a conjoint experiment on property tax preferences
How can we build support for taxation among the wealthy in fragile conflict-afflicted countries? Haiti, one of the poorest and most unequal societies …
www.sciencedirect.com
September 30, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Why would anyone pay #taxes where disasters strike, gangs rule and the state barely functions? Our work in Haiti shows that even amid crisis, the affluent support taxation through social recognition and trusted intermediaries (with Sarah Berens) @WorldDevJournal www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Ana Isabel López
"What does it mean when we take the people who are supposed to be tracking terrorism and global organized crime and have them track Western Union transactions?"
August 18, 2025 at 8:24 PM
"What does it mean when we take the people who are supposed to be tracking terrorism and global organized crime and have them track Western Union transactions?"
Reposted by Ana Isabel López
💬 The recently introduced 1% tax on all cash-based remittances in the US will have "devastating & destabilizing effects on the world's poorest countries."
Read the full op-ed by ICTD's Vanessa van den Boogaard, along with Ana Isabel Lopez Garcia, for Foreign Policy ⬇️
ow.ly/HwO350WF9Vx
#TaxExperts
Read the full op-ed by ICTD's Vanessa van den Boogaard, along with Ana Isabel Lopez Garcia, for Foreign Policy ⬇️
ow.ly/HwO350WF9Vx
#TaxExperts
A Lifeline for Global Development Is Under Threat
Trump’s remittance tax will hurt migrants—and incentivize emigration.
ow.ly
August 13, 2025 at 12:28 PM
💬 The recently introduced 1% tax on all cash-based remittances in the US will have "devastating & destabilizing effects on the world's poorest countries."
Read the full op-ed by ICTD's Vanessa van den Boogaard, along with Ana Isabel Lopez Garcia, for Foreign Policy ⬇️
ow.ly/HwO350WF9Vx
#TaxExperts
Read the full op-ed by ICTD's Vanessa van den Boogaard, along with Ana Isabel Lopez Garcia, for Foreign Policy ⬇️
ow.ly/HwO350WF9Vx
#TaxExperts
Do migrant #remittances make recipients more or less willing to pay #taxes? Data from Latin America show they’re more willing to pay higher taxes for better municipal services, even when contributing informally to public goods via community levies.
@devandchg.bsky.social
@devandchg.bsky.social
When Governments Deliver: Migrant Remittances and the Willingness to Pay Higher Local Taxes
This article deviates from prior research which considers only national-level and formal taxes when examining tax attitudes and behaviours in migrant-sending countries. It investigates the relationsh...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
August 15, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Do migrant #remittances make recipients more or less willing to pay #taxes? Data from Latin America show they’re more willing to pay higher taxes for better municipal services, even when contributing informally to public goods via community levies.
@devandchg.bsky.social
@devandchg.bsky.social
Reposted by Ana Isabel López
Instead of cracking down on illegal immigration and cartel finances, this tax on the poor will increase global instability and the very incentives that drive emigration in the first place.
A Lifeline for Global Development Is Under Threat
Trump’s remittance tax will hurt migrants—and incentivize emigration.
foreignpolicy.com
August 12, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Instead of cracking down on illegal immigration and cartel finances, this tax on the poor will increase global instability and the very incentives that drive emigration in the first place.
In @foreignpolicy.com we call out the new US remittance tax for what it is: a tax on the poor. Built on bad premises, it will hurt far more than it helps. Taxing remittances makes no one stronger, safer, or more secure (with Vanessa van den Boogaard) foreignpolicy.com/2025/08/12/r...
A Lifeline for Global Development Is Under Threat
Trump’s remittance tax will hurt migrants—and incentivize emigration.
foreignpolicy.com
August 12, 2025 at 6:04 PM
In @foreignpolicy.com we call out the new US remittance tax for what it is: a tax on the poor. Built on bad premises, it will hurt far more than it helps. Taxing remittances makes no one stronger, safer, or more secure (with Vanessa van den Boogaard) foreignpolicy.com/2025/08/12/r...
Thank you @isanet.bsky.social !!! Very happy and honored to have received this prize, as the first recipients!! Big thanks to the @ictdtax.bsky.social for their support in funding this research!!
🎉 Congratulations to the 2024 Best Virtual Conference Paper award recipients and honorable mentions for their exceptional scholarship! Applications for this year's cycle open on Aug. 1 via buff.ly/xKSPseI
August 9, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Thank you @isanet.bsky.social !!! Very happy and honored to have received this prize, as the first recipients!! Big thanks to the @ictdtax.bsky.social for their support in funding this research!!
Reposted by Ana Isabel López
This working paper looks really cool.
"The Education-Innovation Gap"
🧵🧵🧵
"The Education-Innovation Gap"
🧵🧵🧵
August 4, 2025 at 6:20 PM
This working paper looks really cool.
"The Education-Innovation Gap"
🧵🧵🧵
"The Education-Innovation Gap"
🧵🧵🧵
Reposted by Ana Isabel López
From our upcoming issue: "US Enforcement Politics and Remittance Dynamics in Mexico" by Matthew Smoldt, Valerie Mueller (@valmuellerasu.bsky.social ), and Cameron G. Thies (@cameronthies.bsky.social).
February 13, 2025 at 1:12 AM
From our upcoming issue: "US Enforcement Politics and Remittance Dynamics in Mexico" by Matthew Smoldt, Valerie Mueller (@valmuellerasu.bsky.social ), and Cameron G. Thies (@cameronthies.bsky.social).
Reposted by Ana Isabel López
Mexico was once a pioneer with its successful conditional cash transfers to reduce poverty. Now that these handouts are universal, the country’s very poorest are worse off
Mexico’s handouts do a bit for the poor and lots for Morena
The populist party has made unconditional cash transfers central to its rule. That creates weaknesses
econ.st
July 19, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Mexico was once a pioneer with its successful conditional cash transfers to reduce poverty. Now that these handouts are universal, the country’s very poorest are worse off
Reposted by Ana Isabel López
When governments deliver: migrant remittances and the willingness to pay higher local taxes
doi.org/10.1111/dech...
Paper in @devandchg.bsky.social by @nuffieldcollege.bsky.social alumna @anaisgarcia.bsky.social Her study shows remittances increase local tax contributions in Latin America/Caribbean
doi.org/10.1111/dech...
Paper in @devandchg.bsky.social by @nuffieldcollege.bsky.social alumna @anaisgarcia.bsky.social Her study shows remittances increase local tax contributions in Latin America/Caribbean
doi.org
July 9, 2025 at 1:03 PM
When governments deliver: migrant remittances and the willingness to pay higher local taxes
doi.org/10.1111/dech...
Paper in @devandchg.bsky.social by @nuffieldcollege.bsky.social alumna @anaisgarcia.bsky.social Her study shows remittances increase local tax contributions in Latin America/Caribbean
doi.org/10.1111/dech...
Paper in @devandchg.bsky.social by @nuffieldcollege.bsky.social alumna @anaisgarcia.bsky.social Her study shows remittances increase local tax contributions in Latin America/Caribbean
Reposted by Ana Isabel López
Millions of Venezuelans have fled their country, facing hardship and discrimination abroad. Yet many show remarkable resilience and hope for the future.
@itsmarirodriguez.bsky.social explores what new survey data from COL and PER reveal about the Venezuelan diaspora: tinyurl.com/u47jyf4m
@itsmarirodriguez.bsky.social explores what new survey data from COL and PER reveal about the Venezuelan diaspora: tinyurl.com/u47jyf4m
The Future of Venezuela’s Diaspora
Recent surveys of migrant communities in Colombia and Peru provide rare insights into the largest exodus in Latin American history.
americasquarterly.org
July 7, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Millions of Venezuelans have fled their country, facing hardship and discrimination abroad. Yet many show remarkable resilience and hope for the future.
@itsmarirodriguez.bsky.social explores what new survey data from COL and PER reveal about the Venezuelan diaspora: tinyurl.com/u47jyf4m
@itsmarirodriguez.bsky.social explores what new survey data from COL and PER reveal about the Venezuelan diaspora: tinyurl.com/u47jyf4m
Reposted by Ana Isabel López
A large field experiment in Peru on informal workers informs whether offering them a matching contribution raises participation and contributions in their Individual Retirement Accounts, from Noelia Bernal, Sebastian Galiani, and Oswaldo Molina https://www.nber.org/papers/w33925
June 22, 2025 at 3:00 PM
A large field experiment in Peru on informal workers informs whether offering them a matching contribution raises participation and contributions in their Individual Retirement Accounts, from Noelia Bernal, Sebastian Galiani, and Oswaldo Molina https://www.nber.org/papers/w33925
Reposted by Ana Isabel López
As large cuts are made to foreign aid across the globe, remittances—money that migrants send back to their home countries—are becoming more important.
Here's how we can maximize their impact for development, according to @helen-dempster.bsky.social & @samhuckstep.bsky.social:
bit.ly/4j42Fo1
Here's how we can maximize their impact for development, according to @helen-dempster.bsky.social & @samhuckstep.bsky.social:
bit.ly/4j42Fo1
After Aid Cuts, Here’s How to Make the Most Out of Remittances
Explore how remittances could help reduce the impacts of aid cuts and support broader economic development goals.
bit.ly
May 16, 2025 at 11:52 PM
As large cuts are made to foreign aid across the globe, remittances—money that migrants send back to their home countries—are becoming more important.
Here's how we can maximize their impact for development, according to @helen-dempster.bsky.social & @samhuckstep.bsky.social:
bit.ly/4j42Fo1
Here's how we can maximize their impact for development, according to @helen-dempster.bsky.social & @samhuckstep.bsky.social:
bit.ly/4j42Fo1
Reposted by Ana Isabel López
How does taxation shape conflict dynamics, and what role can fair and transparent tax systems play in building lasting peace? These were the key questions driving our two-day workshop.
A big thank you to our participants, read more about the event: go.unu.edu/R9p34
A big thank you to our participants, read more about the event: go.unu.edu/R9p34
March 28, 2025 at 4:25 PM
How does taxation shape conflict dynamics, and what role can fair and transparent tax systems play in building lasting peace? These were the key questions driving our two-day workshop.
A big thank you to our participants, read more about the event: go.unu.edu/R9p34
A big thank you to our participants, read more about the event: go.unu.edu/R9p34
Why would anyone pay taxes in a country where disasters strikes, gangs rule and the state barely functions? Our work in Haiti shows that even amid crisis, the affluent can support taxation through social recognition and trusted intermediaries (with Sarah Berens) www.ictd.ac/publication/...
Taxing the Wealthy in Haiti: Evidence from a Survey Experiment on Property Tax Preferences - ICTD
Haiti, one of the poorest and most unequal societies in the Americas, is highly reliant on aid and lacks tax revenue.
www.ictd.ac
March 31, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Why would anyone pay taxes in a country where disasters strikes, gangs rule and the state barely functions? Our work in Haiti shows that even amid crisis, the affluent can support taxation through social recognition and trusted intermediaries (with Sarah Berens) www.ictd.ac/publication/...
In the Midst of Conflict and Gang Rule: What Would Make Haitians Supportive of Property Tax? ictd.ac/blog/conflic... via
@ictdtax.bsky.social
@ictdtax.bsky.social
In the Midst of Conflict and Gang Rule: What Would Make Haiti’s Wealthy Supportive of Property Tax? - ICTD
Why would anyone in Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, agree to pay taxes to a state that has failed them repetitively?
ictd.ac
March 2, 2025 at 7:14 PM
In the Midst of Conflict and Gang Rule: What Would Make Haitians Supportive of Property Tax? ictd.ac/blog/conflic... via
@ictdtax.bsky.social
@ictdtax.bsky.social
Could hiring more women rebuild trust in the local police? Our survey experiment in Mexico shows that female officers are seen as more effective and less corrupt, regardless of (military) background. Effects are moreover stronger for crime and violence victims. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Restoring trust in Mexico’s police: do officer gender and work experience matter?
How can public confidence in the police be restored in high-crime environments? What type of police officers would citizens in violent democracies see as trusted? This paper examines how the gender...
www.tandfonline.com
January 21, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Could hiring more women rebuild trust in the local police? Our survey experiment in Mexico shows that female officers are seen as more effective and less corrupt, regardless of (military) background. Effects are moreover stronger for crime and violence victims. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Can migrant remittances fuel protest in young democracies? In LAC, recipients don't differ in their support for peaceful protest, but are more likely to back violent actions, especially when dissatisfied with clientelist politics. Read more in @IntMig_Journal onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Migrant money and political unrest: remittances and support for protest in Latin America and the Caribbean
How does receiving remittances from abroad influence support for protest participation in origin democracies? Drawing on survey data from Latin America and the Caribbean, a region where social discon...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 27, 2024 at 4:22 PM
Can migrant remittances fuel protest in young democracies? In LAC, recipients don't differ in their support for peaceful protest, but are more likely to back violent actions, especially when dissatisfied with clientelist politics. Read more in @IntMig_Journal onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
In Mexico, penal policies dominate the crime response, but could social policies like youth education be more effective? Check our latest article at SCID
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Classrooms or Crackdowns? How Violence Affects Security Policy Preferences in Mexico - Studies in Comparative International Development
Penal policies have been the primary strategy of Latin American governments to combat crime, but preventative social policies such as youth education programmes may be more effective solutions. Penal ...
link.springer.com
October 31, 2024 at 6:58 PM
In Mexico, penal policies dominate the crime response, but could social policies like youth education be more effective? Check our latest article at SCID
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Reposted by Ana Isabel López
Amigos brasileiros: vocês estão aquí? Me digam onde posso encontrá-los?
September 13, 2024 at 10:49 AM
Amigos brasileiros: vocês estão aquí? Me digam onde posso encontrá-los?
Reposted by Ana Isabel López
Discover how migrant remittances impact #local #taxes! GLD Working Paper No. 74 by @anaisgarcia.bsky.social shows that remittance recipients in #LatinAmerica are more likely to pay higher municipal taxes for better services - Could this strengthen local governance? 🔗 bit.ly/3WNNwxK
August 22, 2024 at 8:17 AM
Discover how migrant remittances impact #local #taxes! GLD Working Paper No. 74 by @anaisgarcia.bsky.social shows that remittance recipients in #LatinAmerica are more likely to pay higher municipal taxes for better services - Could this strengthen local governance? 🔗 bit.ly/3WNNwxK
Reposted by Ana Isabel López
In the Netherlands, natives 8% less likely to cooperate with a non-Western immigrant, in second stage of a trust game, if immigrant trusts the native
In other words, the returns to being trustworthy are lower for the immigrant
By Cettolin+Suetens in EJ—> doi.org/10.1111/ecoj...
In other words, the returns to being trustworthy are lower for the immigrant
By Cettolin+Suetens in EJ—> doi.org/10.1111/ecoj...
January 24, 2024 at 2:57 PM
In the Netherlands, natives 8% less likely to cooperate with a non-Western immigrant, in second stage of a trust game, if immigrant trusts the native
In other words, the returns to being trustworthy are lower for the immigrant
By Cettolin+Suetens in EJ—> doi.org/10.1111/ecoj...
In other words, the returns to being trustworthy are lower for the immigrant
By Cettolin+Suetens in EJ—> doi.org/10.1111/ecoj...