Paulina Oliva, economics associate professor, studies effects of air pollution on health, particularly among low- and middle-income populations. Her research shows that high levels of air pollution can be especially lethal to vulnerable populations in low and middle- income countries such as Mexico and China. Her current research is taking a closer look at socioeconomic characteristics – education, access to healthcare, initial health status – to determine why these populations are more susceptible to the effects of air pollution. Professor Oliva joined the USC faculty this spring following an appointment as an associate professor at UCI and an assistant professor appointment at UC Santa Barbara. Her areas of expertise include environmental economics, development economics and labor economics. Her work – which has been published in the Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Public Economics, and The Economic Journal – aims to address the effectiveness of public policy at improving environmental outcomes and how low-income populations can benefit from these policies. She earned her bachelor’s with high honors at Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas, México D.F. and her doctorate at UC Berkeley. Her work has been funded by UC Mexus, the International Growth Centre (London School of Economics), University of California Center for Energy and Environmental Economics, the Weiss Family Fund, and the CDKN Innovation Fund. Professor Oliva is an associate editor of the Review of Economics and Statistics and of the editorial council of the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management. She is also a voted member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists. Professor Oliva is also a  faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research and an affiliate at the Bureau of Research and Economic Analysis of Development.