Amen Jalal

(My name is pronounced Ae-mun Ja-laal)

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I’m a PhD student in economics at the London School of Economics. My research interests are in development, environmental and labor economics. Most of my work studies how gender and climate shocks shape labor markets in low-income countries.

I will join Harvard University as an Academy Scholar at the Harvard Academy in August 2026, and as an Assistant Professor at the Harvard Kennedy School in August 2027.

Working papers

Screening Women Out? Pay Transparency in Job Postings [ Job Market Paper ]

Selected for European Association of Labour Economists’ job market tour. Won Outstanding Paper Award – European Economic Association and Discrimination & Diversity Workshop. World Bank blog.

Abstract Up to half of the gender pay gap stems from women's sorting into low-wage firms. Do women prefer amenities to wages, or face barriers to search? I tackle this question using data on 29 million job applications from Pakistan's largest job search platform, combined with firm and worker surveys and a field experiment mandating pay transparency. I document that large, high-paying firms are more likely to omit salaries in job ads and less likely to offer flexibility – an amenity women value slightly more than men. When pay is disclosed, men and women respond similarly to wages. But when undisclosed, behaviors diverge: men search randomly, while women sort negatively on pay. A theoretical framework shows that pay non-disclosure amplifies small gender differences in amenity preferences into large gender gaps in applications. To test whether transparency closes these gaps, I randomize mandatory versus optional pay disclosure in 20,088 jobs across 8,906 firms on the platform. The experiment leaves large-firm pay and amenities unchanged. Yet women's applications to these firms increase 95%, and men's 59%, reversing the gender gap in directed search. This implies women do not prefer flexibility to wages. Rather, they turn to flexibility when they cannot access wages. Meanwhile, large firms most exposed to mandated transparency become 30% more likely to disclose pay post-experiment, suggesting they overestimated the costs of transparency.


The Illusion of Time: Gender Gaps in Job Search and Employment

with O. Bandiera, N. Roussille. Submitted.

Abstract Even in traditional societies, men and women graduate from college at increasingly similar rates. Yet their paths diverge upon labor market entry: men work while most women stay home. What drives this divergence? Tracking 2,400 college students in Pakistan, we show that men and women hold similarly high work aspirations at graduation and subsequently apply to jobs and receive offers at comparable rates. Yet a 27 pp gender employment gap emerges within six months, driven by women rejecting offers far more often than men. A key predictor of women’s job acceptance decision is the timing of search: those who apply within two months of graduation are much more likely to be employed later. To test causality and uncover mechanisms, we randomize a modest incentive to apply early. The intervention shifts search earlier for both genders, raises women's employment by ~20% while leaving men's unaffected, thereby closing a third of the gender gap. Employment gains are concentrated among women who underestimate how soon marriage activities arise, revealing that they delayed job search under an “illusion of time.” For these women, early job search can initiate a self-reinforcing cycle: by entering the labor force before the marriage market, they attract more progressive suitors, which in turn can create a more supportive environment for sustained employment.


Can Competition Reduce Corruption?

with M. Haseeb, K. Vyborny, A. Quispe. Revised draft coming soon.

Abstract Corruption remains a major obstacle to the delivery of public services in developing countries. We study whether competition between service delivery agents can mitigate corruption, leveraging exogenous changes to the market structure of agents responsible for delivering government cash transfers in Pakistan. A reform that increased the market power of these agents led to a 29.1 pp increase in the probability that a beneficiary had to pay an involuntary bribe to access the cash transfer. However, in areas with 1 standard deviation higher competition, this increase in bribe payments is almost completely eliminated. We rule out that mechanisms other than competition drive these results, such as strategic entry, changes in market access, and differences in monitoring efforts or cash recipient characteristics.


What Happens When Women Suddenly Stop Receiving Cash Transfers?

with N. Iqbal, M. Mahmud, K. Vyborny. Accepted, Journal of Public Economics.

Abstract Female-targeted cash transfers are widely used as a policy tool to enhance women's empowerment. However, little is known about what happens when payments stop – whether due to budget cuts, program changes, or recipient graduation. We study how women are affected by program exit, and whether they experience backlash when they stop bringing cash home. Using a regression discontinuity-in-differences design around a revised eligibility threshold, we follow a panel of 2,333 women exiting Pakistan's largest cash transfer program. One year after exit, drawing on a comprehensive battery of empowerment, intimate partner violence, and well-being measures, we find no evidence of backlash. These results suggest that the gains experienced by women during the program are not undone by adverse reactions upon exit.


Works in progress

Heat Insurance at Work [ Slides ]

with A. Pople, P. Simpson, E. Zou, O. Bandiera. Implementation on-going. AEA RCT registration.

Abstract Heatwaves, intensified by climate change, hit the poorest the hardest. Many are exposed to dangerous temperatures through outdoor work or limited access to adaptive resources. In 2024, 37 cities in India surpassed 45°C (113°F), and around 40,000 heat stroke cases were reported. How can social protection systems evolve to address the growing losses caused by extreme heat? We evaluate an innovative intervention in India that offers automatic daily wage payments to low-income workers when temperatures exceed a predetermined threshold. Developed by the Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) – a union representing over 3 million informal workers – the scheme is the world's first parametric heat insurance product targeting earnings loss. We use a randomized encouragement design, incentivizing SEWA officers to promote enrollment in 2,821 treatment villages, while 2,821 control villages receive no targeted outreach. Panel survey data – combined with high-frequency measurement during the hot season – will allow us to estimate impacts on labor supply, financial decisions, health, consumption, and adaptive behavior. We also assess willingness to pay relative to actuarially fair pricing, providing evidence on the potential for commercial insurance-based heat protection.


Direct Damage, Indirect Costs: The Spillover Impacts of Natural Disasters

with P. Simpson. Preparing working paper.

Abstract Disaster-prone communities have long developed strategies to weather seasonal shocks, including migration, borrowing, and insurance. But these mechanisms rely on the shocks being localised and predictable. We examine what happens when they are not, using panel data on 5,100 households affected by unprecedented and widespread floods in Pakistan, and a recentered instrumental variables design that distinguishes the effects of local from regional flooding. Households experiencing greater local flooding suffer more physical damage and displacement, yet appear to cope: they receive more aid, travel farther for work, and sustain consumption across both years. Conditional on own flooding, however, greater regional exposure tells a different story. These households receive less aid—consistent with zero-sum allocation of limited relief—face sharp declines in agricultural employment, and are less able to commute to less-affected areas. In the first year, they cope by selling assets. By the second year, these buffers appear exhausted: households draw down savings, take on new debt, skip meals, and report worsening physical health. While disaster response policy tends to focus on emergency relief or long-term recovery, our findings reveal substantial medium-term costs—driven not by direct damage but by indirect and dynamic region-wide effects.


Rebuilding Lives, Not Just Homes: Addressing Trauma in Disaster Recovery

with C. Naik, P. Simpson. Designing pilot.

Abstract Disaster recovery often focuses on rebuilding physical infrastructure, overlooking the mental health impact of traumatic events like floods. In Pakistan, where flooding in 2022 submerged a third of the country and lasted up to 8 months, women exposed to a more intense flood shock were 11 pp more likely to have severe psychological distress 2 years later. Ignoring mental health in reconstruction may prolong the socio-economic impact of disasters by limiting individuals' ability to work, plan, and recover. This project explores complementarities between mental health support and the standard infrastructure-focused approach by randomizing a trauma-based mental health intervention and leveraging natural variation in access to a housing reconstruction program in a 2x2 design. Our findings aim to measure the non-economic losses and damages of climate catastrophes, and inform more holistic disaster recovery policies that address both physical and psychological needs.


Policy writing

Using Biometrics to Deliver Cash Payments to Women. World Bank 2022.

Collecting Accurate Data on Intimate Partner Violence. World Bank 2025.

Equilibrium Effects of a Billion Trees on Ecosystems and Livelihoods. IGC 2025.

Teaching