Research
Welcome to my personal website!
I am Senior Economist and Latin American Coordinator at the Country Studies Branch of the OECD's Economics’ Department, leading the team in charge of conducting the economic surveys, macroeconomic forecasts and structural surveillance of Colombia and Argentina. Before joining the OECD in 2012, I was head of the Global Markets Group at the Financial Policy Division of the Central Bank of Chile. Previously, I worked at the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank as a consultant/economist on emerging market issues. My fields of specialization are international macroeconomics and finance, monetary and fiscal policy, and economic growth.
I hold a Ph.D. and M.A. in economics from the University of Maryland at College Park and completed my undergraduate economic studies at Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina. I also hold a M.A. in economics from Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, Argentina.
Capital Flows, International Reserves and Exchange Rates
"US Long-Term Interest Rates and Capital Flows to Emerging Economies", Journal of International Commerce, Economics and Policy Vol. 06, No. 02, 1550008. (June 2015)
"Are all Capital Inflows Associated with Booms in House Prices? An Empirical Evaluation," (with Alejandro Jara) Working Papers Central Bank of Chile 696, Central Bank of Chile. (2013)
"Capital Inflows and Booms in Asset Prices: Evidence from a Panel of Countries," Central Banking, Analysis, and Economic Policies Book Series, in: Miguel Fuentes D. & Claudio E. Raddatz & Carmen M. Reinhart (ed.), Capital Mobility and Monetary Policy, edition 1, volume 18, chapter 8, pages 255-290 Central Bank of Chile. (2013)
Featured in:
Diario Financiero, Chile, June 22, 2011
Diario Estrategia, Chile, August 10, 2012
"On the Level of International Reserves in Chile: an Analysis Based on Complementary Approaches," (with Gabriela Contreras, Alejandro Jara & Diego Saravia), Journal Economía Chilena (The Chilean Economy), Central Bank of Chile, vol. 15(3), pages 40-63, December. (2011)
Optimal Monetary and Fiscal Policy
“The Optimal Inflation Tax in the Presence of Imperfect Deposit-Currency Substitution” Central Bank of Chile Working Papers N° 619. (Marzo 2011)
International Trade
"Trade Patterns in the 2060 World Economy", (with Jean Château, Lionel Fontagné, Jean Fouré and Åsa Johansson), OECD Economic Journal, OECD Publishing. (2014)
"What Explains the Volume and Composition of Trade?: Industrial Evidence from a Panel of Countries", (with Åsa Johansson, Przemyslaw Kowalski and Dario Pellegrino), OECD Economics Department Working Papers 1128, OECD Publishing. (2014)
"New Evidence on the Determinants of Industrial Specialisation", (with Åsa Johansson) Forthcoming Journal of Structural Change and EconomicDynamics. (2014)
Economic Growth
“Natural Disasters and Economic Growth - Going Beyond Averages” (with Norman Loayza, Jamele Rigolini and Luc Christensen) World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(7), pages 1317-1336.
“Are all Natural Disasters the same for Economic Growth? Theory and Estimation” , mimeo University of Maryland
“Do Epidemics Hurt or Help Economic Growth?” , mimeo University of Maryland
Policy papers
"Bringing all Chileans on board", OECD Economics Department Working Papers 1289, OECDPublishing. (2016)
"Chile: Better skills for inclusive growth", OECD EconomicsDepartment Working Papers 1290, OECD Publishing. (2016)
"Sharing the Fruits of Growth With All Mexicans", (with Valery Dugain) OECD Economics Department Working Papers 1197, OECD Publishing. (2015)
"Long-term Patterns of Trade and Specialisation", (with Åsa Johansson) OECD Economics Department Working Papers 1136, OECD Publishing. (2014)
"Global Trade and Specialisation Patterns Over the Next 50 Years", (with Åsa Johansson) OECDEconomic Policy Papers 10, OECD Publishing. (2014)
“Managing East Asia's Macroeconomic Volatility” (with Jamele Rigolini) World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 4989. (2009)
Wellbeing
"What makes Mexicans happy?", (with Valery Dugain), OECD EconomicsDepartment Working Papers 1196, OECD Publishing. (2015)