I received a B.A. (Magna Cum Laude) and M.A. (Cum Laude) in Economics from Universidad de los Andes in Colombia, and a Ph.D.  and M.A. in Economics from UCLA. Prior to joining the World Bank, I worked as an Assistant Professor of Economics at the Marshall School of Business of the University of Southern California. 

My research informs policy around:

1- The effects of forced migration within hosting economies and the role of policies that foster development for migrants and their hosting communities.

2- The consequences of violence and conflict and how to mitigate those effects in developing countries. 

I have on going research work in Latin America, Middle East, SouthEast Asia, and East Africa, including multiple RCTs. My articles have been published in journals such as the Journal of Labor Economics, Review of Economics and Statistics, Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Human Resources, AEA papers and proceedings, and other leading development journals. 

I am co-founder of the VenRePs Study, which collects longitudinal data on Venezuelan forcibly displaced individuals in Colombia, and the Syrian Refugee Life Study, which collects longitudinal study on Syrian refugees in Jordan. I was also part of the core team of the World Development Report 2023 on Migrants, Refugees, and Societies.