Marcos A. Rangel

Marcos A. Rangel is an Associate Professor of Public Policy and Economics at Duke University, affiliated with the Duke Population Research Institute (DuPRI) and the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) at MIT. His work focuses on applied microeconomics, particularly human capital accumulation, family decision-making, and policy impacts on education, health, and racial disparities. He investigates how intra-family negotiations and societal integration influence resource allocation for children, with recent projects analyzing prenatal care policies, maternal labor regulations, and environmental health impacts of agricultural fires.

Rangel's research leverages innovative data analysis to assess policy effectiveness, including satellite imagery to study agricultural development and health outcomes. He serves as an associate editor of The Journal of Development Economics and collaborates with institutions like BREAD and NORC/University of Chicago's Population Research Center.

His publications emphasize socioeconomic inequality, racial disparities in health outcomes, and barriers to immigrant assimilation. Key themes include policy design vs. implementation gaps, voting behavior effects, and urban agglomeration's cognitive impacts. Current work explores state policies' effects on Hispanic children and the interplay between housing, neighborhood context, and health during the pandemic.

Notable affiliations include J-PAL, BREAD, DuPRI, and NORC/University of Chicago. His research often bridges economics, public health, and policy analysis to address complex social challenges.