Affiliation
University of Southern California (USC)
Academic title
Dr
E-mail:
olivaval@usc.edu
Google Scholar
https://scholar.google.com…

Oliva, Paulina

Paulina Oliva is a Professor of Economics and Spatial Sciences at the University of Southern California (USC). Before joining USC, she was an Associate Professor of Economics at UC Irvine and an Assistant Professor at UC Santa Barbara. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley (2009). She has a B.A. in Economics from Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE) in México.

Paulina is an Editor at the Review of Economics and Statistics, a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), and an affiliate of BREAD, J-PAL, and CEGA.

Research interests

Paulina’s research lies at the intersection of Environmental and Development Economics. She has examined the effects of air pollution on health and economic outcomes in developing countries, as well as individual protective behaviors such as migration and short-run adaptation. Her work explores household and firm responses to environmental policy—including studies on bribery in vehicle emissions testing, technology adoption, and the design of cost-effective subsidies for clean fuels. Her recent projects also engage with Urban Economics, particularly in relation to the expansion of public transit systems in large developing cities.

Mentoring

Chair of more than ten Ph.D. dissertation committees and member of nearly twenty others. Active mentor through CSWEP and Women in Economics initiatives.

Grants and consultancy

  • Rainwater harvesting in urban settings as a response to water shortages. USC-WIIES Faculty Innovation Award, 2024.
  • The economics of climate change mitigation and adaptation. USC President’s Sustainability Award, 2023.
  • Targeting clean fuels: Pricing strategies and the distribution of benefits in periurban Ghana. KCAI-JPAL, 2023.
  • Rainwater harvesting in Mexico City (Pilot Project). KCAI-JPAL, 2021.
  • KnowWhereGraph: Enriching and linking cross-domain knowledge graphs using spatially-explicit AI technologies. NSF Subaward, 2020.
  • The value of air quality in China: Revealed preference through migration decisions. USC Lusk Center Research Award, 2019.
  • Environmental monitoring, public information, and climate change. UC-Mexico Initiative, 2015–2017.
  • Optimal contracts for avoided deforestation: A pilot study in Costa Rica. UCE3, 2011–2012.
  • Contract and market design for land-based carbon offsets in Zambia. IGC, 2011–2012.
  • Living Lab SC/LA initiative. USC Dornsife, 2019.
  • Demand for air pollution information in Mexico City. Inter-American Development Bank, 2016–2019.
  • Estimating the demand for air pollution information in Mexico. Weiss Family Fund, 2014.
  • Contract and market design for land-based carbon offsets in Zambia. CDKN Innovation Fund, 2011–2012.
  • The effect of air pollution on labor. UCMexus, 2010–2011.

Policy engagement and professional service

  • Member of the Board of Directors, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (AERE), 2018–2020.
  • Member of the Review Board, King Climate Action Initiative (K-CAI), J-PAL, 2021–2025.
  • External Review Committee, Faculty Evaluation at CIDE, 2021–present.
  • Editorial Council, Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, 2014–2016.
  • ClimateForward USC Panel Discussion with Policy Makers (2019).

Awards and invited lectures

  • USC-WIIES Faculty Innovation Award, 2024.
  • USC President’s Sustainability Award, 2023.
  • Dean’s Leadership Fellow, USC Dornsife, 2020–2022.
  • Keynote Speaker, Latin American Urban Association Meeting (2024), Latin American Econometric Society (2023), and LAERE (2024, 2025).
  • Keynote Speaker, TWEEDS Workshop on Environmental Economics and Data Science, 2022.
  • USC Faculty Symposium (2019)

Curriculum vitae

CV-Feb-25.pdf
Publications
Air Pollution and Mental Health: Evidence from China
People | 1 November 2019