Her research areas include development economics, political economy, economic history and environmental economics with an African regional focus. Her research investigates the role of institutions and geography in inequality of access to public services (particularly infrastructure, education and measures of public health). Some current work includes studying the effects of taxation and historical institutions on public service provision in Nigeria. Other research studies the impact of health shocks on the gender gap in human capital investment, and the effects of environmental regulation on pollution levels and associated health. She is a faculty affiliate at The Earth Institute at Columbia University, the Institute of African Studies and the Institute for Research in African-American Studies at Columbia University.