On May 15th, Human Development Lab associates Marcela Mello and Juan Pedro Ronconi participated in the RIDGE BRAIN Workshop held at Universidad del Pacífico in Lima, Peru. The event brought together academics from various international institutions to discuss recent research in behavioral and development economics.
Professor Marcela Mello presented her paper “Religious Mayors, Teenage Pregnancy, and Sexual Education in Schools.” Her study analyzes tightly contested mayoral elections in Brazil to estimate the causal effect of electing Pentecostal-affiliated candidates. The findings reveal a 15% increase in teenage birth rates in municipalities where these mayors narrowly won. The main mechanism is a reduction in sexual education activities in municipal schools, where mayors can exert influence through the appointment of school principals. No effects were observed in state-run schools, where mayoral influence is limited.
Juan Pedro Ronconi presented his research “Narratives and Market Exchange in Developing Countries”, which explores how entrepreneurs in low-trust environments—such as Latin America—use storytelling to build consumer trust and stimulate demand. Focusing on e-commerce businesses, the study suggests that narratives can be a powerful tool for overcoming barriers to market exchange.
Reflecting on the event, Professor Ronconi shared: “I received very valuable feedback that will help shape the next stages of this research project. What stood out to me the most was the high quality of the presentations and the engaging conversations with scholars from institutions like UCLA, Bocconi, and several Latin American universities.”
