Alexander Rothenberg

• 2024 Spring
  • ECN 745 Regional Economics
• 2023 Fall
  • ECN 310 Special Topics In Economics - Cities in Developing Countries
  • ECN 441 Urban Economics
• 2023 Spring
  • ECN 745 Regional Economics
  • ECN 310 Special Topics In Economics - Cities in Developing Countries
• 2022 Fall
  • ECN 310 Special Topics In Economics - Cities in Developing Countries
  • ECN 441 Urban Economics
• 2022 Spring
  • ECN 720 Cities in Developing Economies
  • ECN 310 Special Topics In Economics - Cities in Developing Countries

Alexander D. Rothenberg is an Assistant Professor of Economics and a Senior Research Associate in the Center for Policy Research. He is an applied microeconomist whose research interests lie at the intersection of development and urban economics. Prior to joining the Maxwell School, Rothenberg was an economist at the RAND Corporation, and a professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School.

His research studies the effects of different urban, regional and private-sector policy interventions. Using a combination of reduced form and structural techniques, his work examines the causal impacts of these policies on growth and development outcomes, whether they have adverse, unintended consequences, and how they might be improved.

His ongoing research evaluating the effects of rapid motorization on commuting outcomes and urban spatial structure in Jakarta, the long-term growth and development outcomes of a place-based policy in Indonesia's outer Islands, the relationship between urban sprawl and residential carbon emissions, and the effect of relocating Indonesia's capital on output and welfare.

Rothenberg received a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California, Berkeley in 2012.

"Strengthening Policies on Climate Change in Asia and the Pacific through Economic Research, 2023-2025", Sponsored by Asian Development Bank.

"Urban Economist", Sponsored by Asian Development Bank.

"The Consequences of Urban Sprawl in Developing Countries: Economic, Environmental, and Social Outcomes", Sponsored by CUSE Grants - Innovative and Interdisciplinary Research Grant.

"The Political Economy of Slums: Evidence from Manila", Sponsored by Thompson-Burkhead Award, Syracuse University.

"The Consequences of Urban Sprawl in Developing Countries: Economic, Environmental, and Social Outcomes", Sponsored by Maxwell School Center for Policy Research, Summer Project Assistantship.

• Journal Articles
  • Rothenberg, A. D., Civelli, A., Gaduh, A. and Wang, Y., "Urban Sprawl and Social Capital: Evidence from Indonesian Cities." The Economic Journal, 2023.
  • Gaduh, A., Gracner, T. and Rothenberg, A. D., "Life in the Slow Lane: Unintended Consequences of Public Transit in Jakarta." Journal of Urban Economics, 2022.
  • Bazzi, S., Gaduh, A., Rothenberg, A. D. and Wong, M., "Unity in Diversity? How Intergroup Contact Can Foster Nation Building." American Economic Review, 2019.
  • Rothenberg, A. D., Gaduh, A., Burger, N., Chazali, C., Tjandraningsih, I., Radikun, R., Sutera, C. and Weilant, S., "Rethinking Indonesia’s Informal Sector." World Development , 2016.
  • Bazzi, S., Gaduh, A., Rothenberg, A. D. and Wong, M., "Skill Transferability, Migration, and Development: Evidence from Population Resettlement in Indonesia." American Economic Review, 2016.
  • Gertler, P. J., Poczter, S. and Rothenberg, A. D., "Financial Crisis and Productivity Evolution: Evidence from Indonesia." The World Economy, 2014.
  • Glennerster, R., Miguel, E. and Rothenberg, A. D., "Collective Action in Diverse Sierra Leone Communities." The Economic Journal, 2013.
• Book Chapter
  • Rothenberg, A. D., Bazzi, S., Wong, M. and Gaduh, A., "Diversity, Contact, and Nation Building: Evidence from Population Resettlement in Indonesia." In Nation Building: Big Lessons from Successes and Failures. , 2023.
• Technical Reports
  • Bond, C., Rothenberg, A. D., Challenges and Opportunities for the Puerto Rico Economy: A Review of Evidence and Options Following Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. , 2020.
  • Ecola, L., Davenport, A., Kuhn, K. and Rothenberg, A. D., Rebuilding Surface, Maritime, and Air Transportation in Puerto Rico After Hurricanes Irma and Maria. , 2020.
  • Rothenberg, A. D., Temenggung, D., "Place-Based Policies in Indonesia: A Critical Review." In Time to ACT: Realizing Indonesia's Urban Potential. Roberts, M., Sander, F. G. and Tiwari, S. (eds.) World Bank, 2019.
  • Rothenberg, A. D., Witoelar, F., Wicaksono, T. Y., Gracner, T. and Sikoki, B., How Jakarta’s Traffic Affects Labor Market Outcomes for Women and People with Disabilities: Results from a Baseline Survey. Australia-Indonesia Partnership for Economic Governance (AIPEG), 2017.
  • Rothenberg, A. D., Robinson, E., Egel, D., Johnston, P., Mann, S. and Stebbins, D., "When the Islamic State Comes to Town: The Economic Impact of Islamic State Governance in Iraq and Syria." In RAND Research Report (RR-1970-RC). , 2017.
  • Rothenberg, A. D., Kang, Y., Gu, K., Mao, Z., Wei, W., Tao, L., Qing, W., Bu, L. and Yunlan, Q., "Improving Logistics for Perishable Agricultural Products in the People’s Republic of China." In ADB-PRC Regional Knowledge Sharing Initiative (RKSI) Report. , 2016.
  • Rothenberg, A. D., Burger, N., Chazali, C., Gaduh, A., Tjandraningsih, I. and Weilant, S., "Reforming Policies for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Indonesia." In Tim Nasional Percepatan Penanggulangan Kemiskinan (TNP2K). , 2015.

Rothenberg, A. D., Wang, Y., 8th Urbanization and Poverty Reduction Research Conference, World Bank, " Evaluating the Relocation of Indonesia’s Capital: A Quantitative Spatial Model Approach" (March 8, 2024)

AREUEA-ASSA Conference, "Discussion of Brough, Freedman, and Phillips (2023): “Eliminating Fares to Expand Opportunities: Experimental Evidence on the Impacts of Free Public Transportation on Economic and Social Disparities”" (January 7, 2024)

Department Seminar, Asian Development Bank, "Evaluating the Relocation of Indonesia’s Capital: A Quantitative Spatial Model Approach" (December 4, 2023)

Public Economics Seminar, Syracuse University, "Evaluating the Relocation of Indonesia’s Capital: A Quantitative Spatial Model Approach" (November 1, 2023)

17th North American Meeting of the Urban Economics Association, "The Benefits and Costs of Motorization: Evidence from Jakarta" (October 6, 2023)

Conference on Contemporary Challenges in Infrastructure Finance, Georgia State University, "Road Maintenance and Local Economic Development: Evidence from Indonesia's Highways" (September 29, 2023)

Asian Economic Development Conference 2023, Asian Development Bank, "When Regional Policies Fail: An Evaluation of Indonesia’s Integrated Economic Development Zones" (July 16, 2023)

Asian Economic Development Conference 2023, Asian Development Bank, "Road Maintenance and Local Economic Development: Evidence from Indonesia's Highways" (July 15, 2023)

AREUEA National Conference, "When Regional Policies Fail: An Evaluation of Indonesia’s Integrated Economic Development Zones" (June 2, 2023)

AREUEA-ASSA Conference, "Road Maintenance and Local Economic Development: Evidence from Indonesia's Highways" (January 7, 2023)

AREUEA-ASSA Conference, "The Benefits and Costs of Motorization: Evidence from Jakarta" (January 6, 2023)

Zurich Conference on Public Finance in Developing Countries, "Road Maintenance and Local Economic Development: Evidence from Indonesia's Highways" (December 20, 2022)

16th North American Meeting of the Urban Economics Association, "Road Maintenance and Local Economic Development: Evidence from Indonesia's Highways" (October 1, 2022)

16th North American Meeting of the Urban Economics Association, "When Regional Policies Fail: An Evaluation of Indonesia's Integrated Economic Development Zones" (October 1, 2022)

AREUEA-AsRES Tokyo Conference, "Urban Sprawl and Social Capital: Evidence from Indonesian Cities" (August 7, 2022)

AREUEA-AsRES Tokyo Conference, "Road Maintenance and Local Economic Development: Evidence from Indonesia's Highways" (August 4, 2022)

AREUEA-ASSA Conference, "Discussion of Warnes, P. (2020): “Transport Infrastructure Improvements and Spatial Sorting: Evidence from Buenos Aires”" (2022)

Infra4dev Conference, World Bank, "Road Maintenance and Local Economic Development: Evidence from Indonesia's Highways" (2022)

New York Camp Econometrics, "Identifying Productivity Spillovers Using the Structure of Production Networks" (2021)

Syracuse University Conference in Urban Economics, "Identifying Productivity Spillovers Using the Structure of Production Networks" (2021)

AREUEA-ASSA Conference, "Life in the Slow Lane: Unintended Consequences of Public Transit in Jakarta" (2021)

Department Seminar, University of Rochester, "Identifying Productivity Spillovers Using the Structure of Production Networks" (2020)

2020 Virtual Meeting of the Urban Economics Association, "Urban Sprawl and Social Capital: Evidence from Indonesian Cities" (2020)

Department Seminar, Le Moyne College, "Urban Sprawl and Social Capital: Evidence from Indonesian Cities" (2020)

Virtual Seminar, Charter Cities Institute, "Urban Sprawl and Social Capital: Evidence from Indonesian Cities" (2020)

6th Urbanization and Poverty Reduction Research Conference, World Bank, "Life in the Slow Lane: Unintended Consequences of Public Transit in Jakarta" (2019)

AREUEA-ASSA Conference, "Life in the Slow Lane: Unintended Consequences of Public Transit in Jakarta" (2019)

Department Seminar, University at Buffalo, "Life in the Slow Lane: Unintended Consequences of Public Transit in Jakarta" (2019)

CPR Seminar, Syracuse University, "Unity in Diversity? How Intergroup Contact Can Foster Nation Building" (2019)

Department Seminar, University of North Carolina, "Unity in Diversity? How Intergroup Contact Can Foster Nation Building" (2019)

Daniel Patrick Moynihan Award for Teaching and Research, Maxwell School, Syracuse University (2023)

ADB–IEA Innovative Policy Research Award, Honorable Mention for “Road Maintenance and Local Economic Development: Evidence from Indonesia’s Highways”, Asian Development Bank / International Economic Association (2022 - 2022)

RAND Spotlight Award, RAND Corporation (2014)

Center for Equitable Growth Dissertation Fellowship, University of California, Berkeley (2011 - 2012)

Clausen Center for International Business Research Grant (w/ Paul J. Gertler), University of California, Berkeley (2011 - 2012)