Intro

Thanks for stopping by! I am a research economist and adviser to policy makers. I study how science, money, culture, and politics affect economic development.

I have published 30+ papers in major journals such as American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, Economic Journal, Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of International Economics, and Review of Financial Studies. My work has been cited by media outlets such as Bloomberg, The Economist, Financial Times, and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

On RePEc, I am ranked in the top 1% in the world in the past 10 years, and as one of the top Bulgarian research economists.

Disclaimer: This is my personal website. The opinions expressed here do not represent the views of the ECB or the Eurosystem.

Where to meet me

19-21 March 2025: Presenting Violent Conflict and Cross-Border Lending at the 1st Lapland Financial Institutions Summit in Levi (Finland).

Recent

January 2025: New CEPR Discussion paper The Rise of China in Academic Research (with Catalina Cozariuc and Luc Laeven).

December 2024: New CEPR Discussion paper Back to School when Times are Bad? The Role of Housing Frictions (with Anna Pestova).

December 2024: New CEPR Discussion paper Violent Conflict and Cross-Border Lending (with Ralph De Haas, Mikhail Mamonov and Iliriana Shala).

Publications in the last 5 years

January 2025: Putting Countries on the Map? Pastoral Visits of John Paul II and International Trade was accepted for publication in the Economic Journal.

January 2024: Is Religion an Inferior Good? Evidence from Fluctuations in Housing Wealth (with Luc Laeven and Clara Sievert) was published in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization.

September 2023: Carbon Taxes and the Geography of Fossil Lending (with Luc Laeven) was published in the Journal of International Economics.

February 2023: Finance and Green Growth (with Ralph De Haas) was published in the Economic Journal.

October 2022: Unconventional Monetary Policy, Funding Expectations, and Firm Decisions (with Annalisa Ferrando and Gregory F. Udell) was published in the European Economic Review.

April 2022: The Division of Spoils in a Booming Industry was published in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization.

May 2021: Political Cycles in Bank Lending to the Government (with Michael Koetter) was published in the Review of Financial Studies.

October 2020: Debt Overhang, Global Growth Opportunities, and Investment (with Francesca Barbiero and Marcin Wolski) was published in the Journal of Banking & Finance.