I am currently a PhD student at Princeton University, having started my study here in Fall 2004. My current work centers on understanding how financial shocks feed into the real economy, with special attention to cross sectional differences in industry level performance.
Job Market Paper
Time to Produce and Emerging Market Crises
Abstract: This paper argues that interest rates affect output through their impact on the cost
of variable inputs such as materials and labor. This effect occurs because of time lags in the
production process. To test the theory, I exploit the following cross-sectional implication:
industries that usually hold more inventories relative to their variable costs should react more
strongly to changes in the cost of capital. I find that in the course of emerging market crises, there
is a large and robust reallocation towards sectors with low inventory-to-cost ratios. Next, I set up a
multi-sector general equilibrium model with production lags calibrated to be compatible with the
inventory-to-cost ratios in the data. The model implies a sizeable and quick reaction of aggregate
output in reaction to an isolated interest rate shock. Furthermore, exogenous shocks that replicate
the movements in aggregate variables during the crises generate a sectoral reallocation compatible
with the empirical predictions. All these results rely only on the assumption about the production
technology, without any reference to financial or payment frictions.
Working Papers
Heterogeneous Price Setting Behavior and Aggregate Dynamics: Some General Results (2008)- Joint with Carlos Carvalho
Work in Progress
Time Series Properties of Inflation Expectations (2006)- Second Year Paper written for PhD program at Princeton
Inflation Target Zone as a Commitment Mechanism (2005)
Estimativa de Curva de Phillips para o Brasil com Precos Desagregados (2006) - Published in the "Brazilian Journal of Applied Economics" ("Economia Aplicada")
O Trabalho Infantil no Brasil - together with Simon Schwartzman, report for the International Labor Organization
Medidas de Taxa de Cambio Real - senior thesis for Economics BA at Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
Piano Performance at Songbook Cafe in August 2004. Tambourine played by Laura Soares and flute by Carolina de Hollanda
Links
Princeton University and the Econ Department - Where I am currently doing my PhD and where this webpage is hosted
London School of Economics and Political Science and Econ Department- Where I did my Master's studies.
Instituto de Economia - Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro - My Alma Mater, where I went to college.
email: fschwart "at" princeton.edu
address: Economics Department, Fisher Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540