Maha Rehman
@maharehman.bsky.social
I build and test models of how production networks and economies adapt under risk and uncertainty | Applied Economics PhD @Cornell | Formerly @DukeEcon
maharehman.github.io
maharehman.github.io
Pinned
Maha Rehman
@maharehman.bsky.social
· Sep 25
My research agenda connects three strands: how behaviors shift in dense networks, how firms over-adapt (and misallocate) after disasters in an environment of limited state support, and how digital monitoring reshapes resource use. Across these, I study thresholds, adaptation, and misallocation.
With increasing frequency and intensity of health and environmental crises, it is essential to understand how social equilibria form as a response to crisis and how can they be shifted in developing countries where institutions are thin but networks are dense.
Building on that foundation, my 2021 Lahore experiment develops a threshold model of adoption and tests how salience and cohesion shape equilibrium compliance in dense urban networks. (2/6)
October 10, 2025 at 10:31 PM
With increasing frequency and intensity of health and environmental crises, it is essential to understand how social equilibria form as a response to crisis and how can they be shifted in developing countries where institutions are thin but networks are dense.
My research agenda connects three strands: how behaviors shift in dense networks, how firms over-adapt (and misallocate) after disasters in an environment of limited state support, and how digital monitoring reshapes resource use. Across these, I study thresholds, adaptation, and misallocation.
September 25, 2025 at 10:09 AM
My research agenda connects three strands: how behaviors shift in dense networks, how firms over-adapt (and misallocate) after disasters in an environment of limited state support, and how digital monitoring reshapes resource use. Across these, I study thresholds, adaptation, and misallocation.
Reposted by Maha Rehman
Building on that foundation, my 2021 Lahore experiment develops a threshold model of adoption and tests how salience and cohesion shape equilibrium compliance in dense urban networks. (2/6)
September 19, 2025 at 7:13 AM
Building on that foundation, my 2021 Lahore experiment develops a threshold model of adoption and tests how salience and cohesion shape equilibrium compliance in dense urban networks. (2/6)
In between self imposed deadlines, it helps to look up — even briefly — and take in the horizon.
Missed AFE for another year in a row, but the calendar’s already marked for next.
In photo: McGraw Tower from Olin Library, Cornell Campus, Taken yesterday.
Missed AFE for another year in a row, but the calendar’s already marked for next.
In photo: McGraw Tower from Olin Library, Cornell Campus, Taken yesterday.
September 20, 2025 at 1:58 PM
In between self imposed deadlines, it helps to look up — even briefly — and take in the horizon.
Missed AFE for another year in a row, but the calendar’s already marked for next.
In photo: McGraw Tower from Olin Library, Cornell Campus, Taken yesterday.
Missed AFE for another year in a row, but the calendar’s already marked for next.
In photo: McGraw Tower from Olin Library, Cornell Campus, Taken yesterday.
The landmark Bangladesh mask RCT (Abaluck et al.) showed the power of behavioral interventions at scale and shaped global thinking on pandemic response.
(1/6)
(1/6)
September 19, 2025 at 7:13 AM
The landmark Bangladesh mask RCT (Abaluck et al.) showed the power of behavioral interventions at scale and shaped global thinking on pandemic response.
(1/6)
(1/6)
Disasters reshape more than assets—they reshape firm–state relations.
My new VoxDev Blog shows how firms in Pakistan’s 2005 earthquake adapted not only to physical damage but also to the then weak state credibility, creating inefficiencies I term adaptive misallocation.
x.com/MahaRehman1/...
My new VoxDev Blog shows how firms in Pakistan’s 2005 earthquake adapted not only to physical damage but also to the then weak state credibility, creating inefficiencies I term adaptive misallocation.
x.com/MahaRehman1/...
September 1, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Disasters reshape more than assets—they reshape firm–state relations.
My new VoxDev Blog shows how firms in Pakistan’s 2005 earthquake adapted not only to physical damage but also to the then weak state credibility, creating inefficiencies I term adaptive misallocation.
x.com/MahaRehman1/...
My new VoxDev Blog shows how firms in Pakistan’s 2005 earthquake adapted not only to physical damage but also to the then weak state credibility, creating inefficiencies I term adaptive misallocation.
x.com/MahaRehman1/...
VoxDev Blog on my recent paper, which introduces the concept of adaptive misallocation: when firms expecting little government aid over-invest in survival at the expense of productivity. Evidence reveals a new class of firms: fragile intermediaries—that are especially vulnerable.
September 1, 2025 at 8:31 AM
VoxDev Blog on my recent paper, which introduces the concept of adaptive misallocation: when firms expecting little government aid over-invest in survival at the expense of productivity. Evidence reveals a new class of firms: fragile intermediaries—that are especially vulnerable.
VoxDev Blog on my recent paper: Adaptive misallocation when firms expecting little government aid over-invest in survival at the cost of long-run productivity. Evidence from the 2005 earthquake shows a new class of vulnerable firms: fragile intermediaries.
Links: maharehman.github.io/research/
Links: maharehman.github.io/research/
September 1, 2025 at 7:28 AM
VoxDev Blog on my recent paper: Adaptive misallocation when firms expecting little government aid over-invest in survival at the cost of long-run productivity. Evidence from the 2005 earthquake shows a new class of vulnerable firms: fragile intermediaries.
Links: maharehman.github.io/research/
Links: maharehman.github.io/research/
I am very happy to share a new labour of love: my new website which is now live:
maharehman.github.io
Feedback welcome! Keeping it simple for clarity.
maharehman.github.io
Feedback welcome! Keeping it simple for clarity.
Home | Maha Rehman
maharehman.github.io
April 23, 2025 at 9:31 PM
I am very happy to share a new labour of love: my new website which is now live:
maharehman.github.io
Feedback welcome! Keeping it simple for clarity.
maharehman.github.io
Feedback welcome! Keeping it simple for clarity.
Reposted by Maha Rehman
If it's true that future collection of Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data "will cease," this would be a staggering loss to the global community. 1/6
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
February 6, 2025 at 4:53 AM
If it's true that future collection of Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data "will cease," this would be a staggering loss to the global community. 1/6
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
Winter in Ithaca is majestic - notice nature's detailing in the grand icicles - but with spring around the corner, I almost miss the stillness and the comforting cold.
March 25, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Winter in Ithaca is majestic - notice nature's detailing in the grand icicles - but with spring around the corner, I almost miss the stillness and the comforting cold.
My new paper, now in print, examines how the 2005 Pakistan earthquake triggered asymmetric firm-level over-adaptation in response to policy uncertainty. (1/n)
Link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
A thread follows:
Link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
A thread follows:
March 24, 2025 at 10:04 PM
My new paper, now in print, examines how the 2005 Pakistan earthquake triggered asymmetric firm-level over-adaptation in response to policy uncertainty. (1/n)
Link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
A thread follows:
Link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
A thread follows:
Rare Northern Lights Opportunity On Thanksgiving: Here’s Where To See The Aurora Borealis Tonight
www.forbes.com/sites/mollyb...
www.forbes.com/sites/mollyb...
Rare Northern Lights Opportunity On Thanksgiving: Here’s Where To See The Aurora Borealis Tonight
NOAA predicts a minor to moderate geomagnetic storm Thursday night, potentially giving people across the northern U.S. the opportunity to see the northern lights on Thanksgiving.
www.forbes.com
November 28, 2024 at 11:14 PM
Rare Northern Lights Opportunity On Thanksgiving: Here’s Where To See The Aurora Borealis Tonight
www.forbes.com/sites/mollyb...
www.forbes.com/sites/mollyb...
I am so excited for this extension to my current research agenda: How do firms in emerging economies, in this case Pakistan, react, respond and adapt in the aftermath of a natural disasters and climate change.
#climatesky
#climatesky
July 2, 2024 at 9:35 AM
I am so excited for this extension to my current research agenda: How do firms in emerging economies, in this case Pakistan, react, respond and adapt in the aftermath of a natural disasters and climate change.
#climatesky
#climatesky
And when I am not working, you will find me active outdoors. I like photography, writing, hiking and water sports!
October 4, 2023 at 12:53 AM
And when I am not working, you will find me active outdoors. I like photography, writing, hiking and water sports!
Reposted by Maha Rehman
I have a paper on higher ed expansion, structural transformation, and firm productivity in Vietnam that I'm looking for seminar feedback.
Does anyone have a spot in their seminar/brown bag that I can sign up for?
Does anyone have a spot in their seminar/brown bag that I can sign up for?
October 3, 2023 at 10:40 PM
I have a paper on higher ed expansion, structural transformation, and firm productivity in Vietnam that I'm looking for seminar feedback.
Does anyone have a spot in their seminar/brown bag that I can sign up for?
Does anyone have a spot in their seminar/brown bag that I can sign up for?