Luís Meloni
Associate Professor of Economics
- University of São Paulo (FEA-USP), Department of Economics
- Former Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow, Bocconi University
Associate Professor of Economics
Welcome to my website! I am an economist and an Associate Professor at the University of São Paulo. I use large-scale administrative data, quasi-experimental designs, and randomized controlled trials to evaluate public policy across a range of areas — regulation, procurement, energy, education, and political economy.
Publications
Policy Enforcement in the Presence of Organized Crime: Evidence from Rio de Janeiro
Coverage: Piauí Magazine
Under Pressure: Women's Leadership During the COVID-19 Crisis
Replication: data & code
Coverage: BBC · Foreign Policy · Folha de S.Paulo · Globo News, among others
AEA RCT Registry: AEARCTR-0011363
Presented at: LACEA EGAP session (2024) · Brazilian Econometric Society (2024)
Working Papers
Do Set-Aside Auctions Pay Off? Evidence from Brazil
Presented at: European Economic Association (2025) · UPF Applied Seminar (2025) · Charles University (2024), among others
Can Entertainment Media Undermine Dictatorships?
Presented at: UC Berkeley · Yale University · NYU · LSE STICERD · Bocconi (BREAD/CEPR/PODER) · PUC-Rio, among others
Work in Progress
The Impact of Principal Leadership Practices on Student Achievement in Brazilian Schools
The Limits of Time-of-Use Tariffs: Causal Evidence on Load Shifting in Brazil
Invited presentation: USAEE North American Conference (2026)
Behavioral and Economic Impacts of Tariff Innovations in the Brazilian Electricity Market
AEA RCT Registry: AEARCTR-0015658 · AEARCTR-0016313
Who Pays the Bill? Criminal Governance and Non-Technical Losses in Rio de Janeiro
Extreme Heat and Mortality in Brazil
Climate Shocks and Public Procurement: Evidence from Brazil's 2024 Floods
Teaching
I have taught a wide range of undergraduate and graduate courses in applied econometrics, statistics, and applied microeconomics. Recent courses include:
Policy Work
I collaborate with governments, NGOs, and firms on program evaluation, bringing randomized and quasi-experimental methods to policy questions across areas including education, management assessment, and electricity markets. My work includes partnerships with state and municipal governments across Brazil — influencing policy adoption in energy and education in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Distrito Federal, Bahia, and other states.