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I am an Associate Professor at the Institute for Economic Policies, Universidad Andres Bello (Santiago, Chile).
My current research interests are Macroeconomics, Labor Economics, and Political Economy.
Here you can find my C.V.
I am a principal researcher in the Nucleus LM2C2 (Labor Market Mismatch: Causes and Consequences) and an adjunct researcher of the MIPP (Millenium Institute on Market Imperfections and Public Policy)
I am also co-director of the SABE project (Sistema de Análisis de Bolsas de Empleo), which gathers and harmonizes real-time data from job ads and applicants from multiple online job boards in Chile and classifies demand and supply side into occupations using machine learning techniques.
These are profiles in: Google Scholar, RePeC, SSRN, Research Gate, ORCID, Scopus.
Contact: benjamin.villena.r (at) gmail.com
News
News
Oct 17, 2025: I wrote a column for La Segunda entitled "Creation and destruction". I referred to the idea of creative destruction, for which the Nobel Prize gave the award to professors Aghion and Howitt.
Oct 16-17, 2025: I presented our "Working hours policy reform: micro and macro impacts" (with M. Tejada) at the second edition of the Frontier of Macro-Labour workshop that took place in Panmure House, the historical home of Adam Smith in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Oct 13-15, 2025: I visited the University of Bristol, UK, to spend a few days working with my long-term coauthor Sekyu Choi. We made a lot of progress in several projects of our joint research agenda.
Oct 1, 2015: I gave a new interview to Radio Agricultura on the new developments in the Chilean labor market. I also referred to long-term reforms in our labor training system that are urgently needed.
Sep 30, 2025: A brief comment on the new labor market data in Emol.
Sep 27, 2025: New version of our paper "Labor Markets, Inequality, and Hiring Selectivity" jointly written with Alessandra Pizzo. Just submitted!
Sept 17, 2025: I wrote a column for Ex-Ante on some additional ideas regarding the Central Bank's reported negative impact of minimum wages and other labor market policies in Chile.
Sept 16, 2025: I was interviewed on Radio Agricultura on the reported impact of regulatory changes in the labor market on employment in Chile and other labor market topics.
Sept 16, 2025: Canal 13 interviewed me to ask for my opinion on the Central Bank's report on the effect of labor market regulations in Chile.
Sept 12, 2025: I was portrayed by a note from Emol on the report showing the discrepancy between politicians and the Central Bank's reported impact of regulatory changes in the labor market on employment in Chile. Here is also a LinkedIn article in which I expanded my original comment.
Sept 9, 2025: I presented our paper "Working hours policy reform: micro and macro impacts" (with M. Tejada) in the cycle "Ciencia que Incide" (Science that Matters) organized by the Faculty of Economics and Business, Universidad Andres Bello.
Sept 5, 2025: I commented on the CAF Annual Report of Local Governments in Latin America and the Caribbean at the 2025 SECHI Meeting. I also presented our paper "Local government investment networks" (joint with P. Valdivieso)
Sept 4, 2025: My coauthor Felipe Rodriguez presented at the session of SECHI (Chilean Economic Society) our paper "Labor Market Adjustment after a Supply Side Shock: Evidence from COVID-19". The meeting this year was in Arica, the northern extreme of Chile, being hosted by Universidad de Tarapacá.
Aug 25, 2025: A comment on El Mercurio on the relevant information to consider when increasing the minimum wage in Chile.
Aug 17, 2025: Our paper "Deconstructing Job Search Behavior" has been conditionally accepted at Labour Economics. Finally!
Aug 7, 2025: Interview on Radio Infinita on the null employment growth, the importance of labor market policies, and more.
Aug 6, 2025: Interview on Radio Agricultura on the decrease of labor participation, the effect of minimum wage increases, and economic policies to foster female employment.
Aug 5, 2025: Interview on Radio Biobio on the situation of non-employed, non-student youngsters in Chile and the general situation of the labor market.
Aug 4, 2025: Some comments for El Mercurio on the situation of "ninis" (youngsters who don't work nor study) in Chile.
Aug 2, 2025: A new column on a proposed severance payment reform in Chile in Ex Ante.
Aug 1, 2025: Some reactions to the poor performance of the Chilean labor market during April-June 2025 in LUN.
Jul 25, 2025: Brief appearance in a note in Chilevision (approx. 3:20) about the labor market situation during the times Jeannette Jara and Evelyn Matthei were Ministers of Labor Affairs. Both are now candidates for the next presidential election in Chile.
Jul 24, 2025: An interview in Radio Duna / La Tercera on the recent spike of unemployment in Chile, particularly for females.
Jul 19, 2025: A new column in El Mostrador addressing the attempt of some Chilean representatives to rule out the UF, the accounting inflation-indexed unit widely used for financial contracts, and its potential implications.
Jul 15, 2025: A new column in La Tercera on the puzzling simultaneous rise of unemployment and decrease of informality in Chile.
Jul 14, 2025: A letter to the editor in La Segunda in which I refer to the potential impact of increasing the minimum wage up to 750,000 CLP (around 787 USD per month), i.e. 40% higher than today's values.
Jul 7, 2025: Some comments on the new developments on arbitrary tariffs of the Trump administration in Emol.
Jul 3, 2025: I participated in an interview (La Tercera / Radio Duna) on the effects of the Middle East geopolitical situation and its impact on the Chilean economy.
Jul 2, 2025: Some of my comments on the project that reduces bureaucratic procedures for investments in Chile in Emol.
Jul 2, 2025: Some comments about the short term growth in Chile quoted in Publimetro.
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