Mathematical Economics undergraduate Conor Donohoe has published a new paper titled "Geopolitical Distance and the Sensitivity of Bilateral Capital Flows to Global Risk" in the Columbia Economic Review. The paper grew out of Conor's undergraduate thesis, which he wrote in Econ 3598: Economics Writing Seminar under the supervision of Professor Olga Timoshenko

His work examines whether geopolitical distance between countries changes how cross-border investment responds to global risk. Using differences in UN General Assembly voting as a measure of geopolitical distance and data on bilateral portfolio flows from 2001 to 2018, the study finds that flows between more geopolitically distant countries are less sensitive to swings in global volatility and tilt more toward FDI relative to portfolio investment. The results suggest that geopolitical alignment shapes both how much capital moves between countries and how global shocks travel through those financial ties.

Congratulations to Conor!