Toman Barsbai

Toman Barsbai

@tomanbarsbai.com

Professor of Economics ‪at the University of Bristol‬. Development, migration, culture, and behavior. tomanbarsbai.com

392 followers365 following50 posts

Toman Barsbai reposted

Andreas Steinmayr
@andreassteinmayr.net

Ursache und Wirkung: Darüber denken wir öfter nach, als uns bewusst ist. Ausführlich mit @asator.bsky.social im Erklär mir die Welt Podcast darüber zu diskutieren, wie wir in der Wissenschaft darüber nachdenken, hat großen Spaß gemacht.

Andreas Sator@asator.bsky.social

Forscher finden bei der "Kausalen Revolution" heraus, warum Arbeitslosigkeit steigt, Menschen FPÖ wählen oder ob Rauchen Lungenkrebs verursacht. Andreas Steinmayr kennt die Revolution und erklärt. Folge 410 von Erklär mir die Welt hier hören: xn--erklrmir-3za.at/2026/10/13/4...

Toman Barsbai reposted

Dean Yang
@deanyang.bsky.social

Can a savings account reduce heavy drinking? In a randomized trial with 1,500 men in western Kenya, a savings program cut hazardous drinking by 26% and intimate partner violence by 15%. New NBER working paper 🧵

Toman Barsbai reposted

Hillary Turinawe
@turinawehillarie.bsky.social

Greatful to @johanneshaushofer.com and @malengo.org for the opportunity! @unibonn.bsky.social has been a good place to study medicine.

Johannes Haushofer@johanneshaushofer.com

Hillary Turinawe is a @malengo.org scholar from Uganda. Within a year of arriving in Germany, he taught himself C1 German and was accepted for medical school at @unibonn.bsky.social. This week, he passed his "Physikum", the tough two-year exam on the way to becoming a doctor. Congratulations!!

Toman Barsbai reposted

Paul Hufe
@paulhufe.net

Replying to @paulhufe.net

Next up: Ingvild Almas (UZH Department of Economics) on perceived *unfair* inequality in labor markets — with a particular focus on the influence of inequality perceptions and fairness preferences.

Toman Barsbai reposted

Paul Hufe
@paulhufe.net

Replying to @paulhufe.net

When good ends require dodgy means, what do people do? Our second keynote Roland Benabou (Princeton Economics) runs a real-stakes trolley plus 5 other ends-vs-means games. 20–44% pick non-consequentialist — but trolley choices predict *nothing* about the rest. Kantian/utilitarian isn't a trait.

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Toman Barsbai
@tomanbarsbai.com

It's a wrap. Thanks to all participants for an amazing migration workshop! 😍 The 2026 Bristol Applied Economics Meetings are not over yet. Tomorrow we continue with the Meeting on “Fairness in the Economy.”

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Toman Barsbai
@tomanbarsbai.com

@descamillag.bsky.social documents that early 20th-century railroad access in Mexico doubled migration to the US. The effect persists, despite railroads becoming obsolete. Mechanism: migrant-assisting institutions emerged, turning rail lines into persistent migration corridors.

Toman Barsbai
@tomanbarsbai.com

Christoph Albert shows that US immigrants buy substantially more imported goods than natives. They also reduce trade costs and increase local import supply, with small spillovers to natives. Tariffs hit immigrant households far harder than natives. Paper: www.ifo.de/DocDL/cesifo...

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Toman Barsbai
@tomanbarsbai.com

Seyhun Orcan Sakalli shows Greek Orthodox refugees expelled from Anatolia to Greece in the 1920s (and their descendants) initially lagged in education but eventually outperformed natives. They also favored more portable degrees such as engineering & medicine. Paper: www.nber.org/system/files...

Toman Barsbai
@tomanbarsbai.com

Ran Abramitzky addresses the interaction between immigration and politics: if immigrants' outcomes are positive, why are immigration politics so negative? Long-run perspective using historical US data.

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Toman Barsbai
@tomanbarsbai.com

Can migrant letters shape culture at origin? @martinfs23.bsky.social presents evidence from 6,000+ letters by 19th-century Irish migrants in North America. The Catholic Church’s staggered expansion in the US increased religious content, contributing to a Catholic revival in Ireland.

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Toman Barsbai
@tomanbarsbai.com

Next up, Sarah Winton studies Jordan’s decision to grant Syrian refugees the right to work. Refugees moved to better jobs, while Jordanians shifted out of the most exposed occupations. Result: higher output, lower inequality, and the largest gains for the poorest Jordanians.

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Toman Barsbai
@tomanbarsbai.com

@linchuanxu.bsky.social studies labor recruitment agencies in China. By connecting workers in poorer regions to jobs in high-wage cities, these middlemen increase temporary migration, narrow regional wage gaps, generate output gains, and capture a large share as profits.

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Toman Barsbai
@tomanbarsbai.com

With Caroline Theoharides, we turn to how migration moves more than people. International mobility can carry skills, ideas, and human capital across borders, with important lessons for how policy shapes who benefits from these flows.

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Toman Barsbai
@tomanbarsbai.com

Next, @mkaradja.bsky.social shows that war reaches people who never enter the conflict zone. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainians in Sweden saw mental-health prescriptions rise by 30%, while also working and earning more to support family and friends at home.

Toman Barsbai
@tomanbarsbai.com

Emma Thill studies how European national football shapes immigration attitudes. When diverse teams win, people become more open to immigration. When they lose, immigrant-origin players become scapegoats, and support for the far right increases.

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Toman Barsbai
@tomanbarsbai.com

Alex Yarkin asks how the internet has changed the migration experience. As access expands at home, immigrants in the US stay connected to origin networks, leading to lower English proficiency and naturalization, but less segregation and higher well-being.

Toman Barsbai reposted

Paul Hufe
@paulhufe.net

💥 We’re absolutely thrilled that the Bristol Applied Economics Meetings (BÆM) kick off tomorrow at the University of Bristol! 💥 We have an amazing program bringing together leading research on development, migration, and fairness in the economy.

Toman Barsbai
@tomanbarsbai.com

1/ Could more empathy improve working conditions? In a study with the Philippine government, we find that a family photo, shared with the employer, can reduce mistreatment of migrant domestic workers. Out now in the JPE Micro.

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Toman Barsbai
@tomanbarsbai.com

1/ Could more empathy improve working conditions? In a study with the Philippine government, we find that a family photo, shared with the employer, can reduce mistreatment of migrant domestic workers. Out now in the JPE Micro.

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Toman Barsbai
@tomanbarsbai.com

3/ Of course, legal and institutional reforms in destination countries remain essential to protect migrant workers. But this virtually cost-free intervention gives workers a practical tool they can use right now to improve their working conditions.

Toman Barsbai
@tomanbarsbai.com

4/ 📄 Paper: doi.org/10.1086/736930 📄 Ungated: deanyang-econ.github.io/deanyang/fil... 🎥 I summarize the study in this video recorded by @liser.lu: www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIvV... 📰 Excellent write-up by @um-psc.bsky.social : fordschool.umich.edu/news/2026/sh...

doi.orgPicture This: Social Distance and the Mistreatment of Migrant Workers | Journal of Political Economy Microeconomics: Vol 4, No 2We experimentally study an intervention to reduce mistreatment of Filipino overseas domestic workers (DWs) by their employers. Encouraging DWs to show their employers a family photo while providing a ...
Toman Barsbai
@tomanbarsbai.com

1/ Could more empathy improve working conditions? In a study with the Philippine government, we find that a family photo, shared with the employer, can reduce mistreatment of migrant domestic workers. Out now in the JPE Micro.

Toman Barsbai
@tomanbarsbai.com

2/ Beyond reducing mistreatment, the intervention increased workers’ job satisfaction and the likelihood of contract extension. The likely mechanism: the family photo reduces the employer’s perceived social distance from the worker.

Toman Barsbai
@tomanbarsbai.com

Last call for applications. Deadline is on March 15.

Toman Barsbai@tomanbarsbai.com

📢 Fully funded PhD position at the Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Economics (Bonn) Opportunity to work on the scientific evaluation of @malengo.org, an exciting RCT on international educational migration from Uganda to Germany, and join our great team. www.povertyactionlab.org/careers/phd-...

povertyactionlab.orgPhD-position - Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Economics - Bonn, Germany | The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab

Toman Barsbai reposted

Sascha O. Becker
@essobecker.bsky.social

Come join @nathannunn.bsky.social James Fenske, Stephan Heblich and myself in the far north of 🇨🇦🍁🇨🇦 Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, boasts up to 240 nights of active aurora borealis per year ❤️

Kris Inwood@kris-inwood.bsky.social

Only one week left to propose a paper for the joint economic history-Indigenous economics meeting August 21-23 in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. Send 1-2 page extended abstract to David Rosé (darose@wlu.ca) & Rob Gillezeau (rob.gillezeau@rotman.utoronto.ca) by February 27! economichistory.ca

economichistory.caThe Canadian Network for Economic History

Toman Barsbai reposted

Catia Batista
@catiabatista.bsky.social

Apply to present your work at the @novafrica.bsky.social PhD Workshop on Development Economics. Organized by the fantastic Econ PhD students at Nova SBE!

NOVAFRICA@novafrica.bsky.social

📢 Call for papers now open for the 4th @NOVAFRICA PhD Workshop on Development Economics 📍 Nova SBE (Lisbon, PT) | 📅 June 17, 2026 This is a pre-conference event ahead of the #NOVAFRICA2026 Conference. 📝 Submission Deadline: March 15, 2026 🔗 bit.ly/4qPvWHy #DevEcon #EconResearch

Toman Barsbai reposted

VoxDev
@voxdev.bsky.social

🆕 How international migration shapes fertility and reproductive health back home Susan Godlonton (Williams College Economics Department) & Caroline Theoharides (Amherst) discuss how exposure to less restrictive health policies abroad lowered fertility in the Philippines: https://ow.ly/7lZw50Y4JiS

ow.lyHow international migration shapes fertility and reproductive health back homeExposure to less restrictive reproductive health policies via international migration leads to lower fertility in origin communities through the diffusion of new knowledge, preferences, and behaviour.
Toman Barsbai
@tomanbarsbai.com

BÆM💥5 days left to submit to the Bristol Applied Economics Meetings! 🌍Development (5-6 May) w/ Mobarak, Orkin, Rasul, Rossi 👥Migration (6-7 May) w/ Abramitzky, Monras, Theoharides ⚖️Fairness (8 May) w/ Fehr, Bénabou, Almås 👉 baem.info

Toman Barsbai reposted

Ludger Woessmann
@woessmann.bsky.social

Extremely saddened to learn about the passing of Jon Temple. He was a leading thinker on the economics of growth, and such a decent person. Here’s a few fond memories of our interactions, for which I’ll always be profoundly grateful: www.linkedin.com/feed/update/... R.I.P., dear Jon.

linkedin.comI am saddened beyond words to learn that Jon Temple, the profound investigator of the economics of growth, has passed away.   https://lnkd.in/d9KMSE7B   We must have first met at several conferences…...I am saddened beyond words to learn that Jon Temple, the profound investigator of the economics of growth, has passed away.   https://lnkd.in/d9KMSE7B   We must have first met at several conferences ...

Toman Barsbai reposted

Johannes Haushofer
@johanneshaushofer.com

I continue to be inspired by our amazing Malengo students — here is another conversation, this time with Kiltan Karbous, a Sudanese refugee from Uganda, who is studying Physics in Leipzig.

Malengo@malengo.org

Introducing the world to our amazing Malengo students, vol. 4: Please meet Kiltan Karbous, who is a Malengo Uganda–University Scholar studying studying Physics at the University of Leipzig, Germany. youtu.be/qCyAzhzNjNM

youtu.beMalengo Scholar Profiles: Kiltan Karbous, Uganda–Germany University ScholarYouTube video by Malengo Inc.