Mathieu Bourret Soto

PhD student, Bordeaux School of Economics

My CV here

Hi there, and welcome to my website!

I’m Mathieu Bourret Soto, a third-year PhD student at the Bordeaux School of Economics (University of Bordeaux). I study the causes and consequences of conflict in Latin America, with an empirical approach based on political economy and development economics. I’m also interested in how people and communities adapt to climate change, using a more interdisciplinary lens. From March to July 2025, I’m a visiting scholar at NOVAFRICA (Nova SBE) as part of my PhD.

Feel free to check out my work, happy to chat about it anytime!

Research

Publications

M. Bourret Soto & M. Guillon (2024). What drives adaptive behaviours during heatwaves? A systematic review with a meta-analysis
PAPER
Global warming will lead to more frequent and intense heatwaves across all regions of the world in the coming decades. Adaptation at the individual level plays a key role in helping populations cope with these extreme events. This study undertakes a systematic review of the academic literature on the determinants of heat-adaptive behaviours (HABs) following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A Boolean algorithm was used on two online databases (PubMed and Web of Science Core Collection) to retrieve 73 relevant, quantitative, peer-reviewed papers. All included studies focus on high-income economies (N = 48) or middle-income economies (MIEs, N = 25). A meta-analysis was performed on 34 studies using a random-effects model, with an emphasis on heat-related perceptions (perceived efficacy, risk and threat) and heat-related knowledge (HRK), as these variables are the most likely levers of behavioural change. Perceived efficacy, HRK, perceived threat and gender (i.e. being female) are positively associated with the adoption of HABs. A moderation analysis reveals heterogeneity in the effect of these variables by country income group, with low HRK and perceived threat constituting stronger barriers to HABs in MIEs. This study also highlights various gaps in the current literature, regarding the populations studied, the statistical methods used, and the lack of standardization of HABs and perception concepts.

Ongoing Work

M. Bourret Soto. "Legacies of violence: Impressionable Year Hypothesis and Political Trust in Chile"
PAPER
This study investigates the long-term effects of political repression on political trust in Chile, leveraging the impressionable years hypothesis (IYH) to examine how exposure during adolescence and early adulthood shapes political attitudes. Using a difference-in-differences approach and various sources of data, we analyse the impact of state-led violence during the early years of the Pinochet dictatorship (1973–1990) on trust in key political institutions. To address endogeneity concerns, we employ exogenous measures of exposure to repression, notably proximity to military bases established before the coup. The findings reveal a decline in trust in two state institutions, the Carabineros and the military, among individuals who experienced greater political repression during their impressionable years (17-25 years old) in 1973. In contrast, trust in the government and the presidency appears unaffected, suggesting a differentiation in how political violence influences perceptions of state institutions. Further analysis indicates that parental education amplifies the long-term effect of repression on political trust. These results contribute to the literature on authoritarian legacies, highlighting the enduring consequences of political violence on democratic consolidation.
M. Guillon & M. Bourret Soto. "Prevalence and factors associated with the adoption of heat-adaptive behaviors among residents of a French southern region".
M. Bourret Soto & T. Plassot-Sansans. "Reunited? Post-conflict attitudes toward ex-combatants in Colombia".
"Environmental conflicts in Latin America"
"Assassination of social leaders in Colombia"

Peer Review Experience

Journal of Environmental Psychology, Frontiers in Psychiatry

Mathieu Bourret Soto

Research

Publications

Ongoing Work

Peer Review Experience

Participation to Workshops and Conferences

Teaching

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