Welcome! 

I am an Assistant Professor of Economics at Harvard University.

I completed my Ph.D. in Political Economy and Government (Economics Track) at Harvard University in May 2021, and my dissertation received the 2021 Outstanding Dissertation Award from the National Tax Association. Previously, I was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Stanford King Center on Global Development and an  Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Southern California.

My research interests lie at the intersection of development economics, public economics, and political economy. My primary research agenda focuses on the determinants of state capacity, with a special emphasis on tax capacity. My work also explores the origins of social ties, such as kinship, and the formation of beliefs, including those that suppress effort, examining how these factors influence economic development. 

I conduct fieldwork in the D.R. Congo, where I help manage a non-profit survey organization, ODEKA (Organisation d'Etudes Economiques sur le Kasai). 

I am a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and an Affiliate of the Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development (BREAD), the  Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), the Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA), Evidence in Governance and Politics (EGAP), and the Harvard Center for International Development (CID). 

E-mail: abergeron@fas.harvard.edu

Curriculum Vitae (PDF)

Research Statement (PDF)