(In chronological order)
2001-2012
In the period 2001-2005, I started my career in a private company of political and social research, where I became partner and General Director in the year 2004. I managed more than 50 national surveys and approximately 20 qualitative projects using focus groups and depth interviews. I administered an average budget of USD $500,000 per year. In the same period, I developed interest in the concept of Strong and Weak Sustainability using Multi-criteria Methods. I applied this methodology in my Master Thesis in 2005 (M.Sc. Economics-FLACSO).
In the year 2006 —and attracted by the high quality of private studies— I was part of the team responsible of the market research in the Ecuadorian office of the biggest multinational company of the world (approx. USD $ 1 million of research budget per year). After that, I founded a company of research specialized in social and economic studies.
In the year 2007, I was designated National Director of the Official Institute of Statistics and Censuses of Ecuador (INEC). I executed the 2010 Population Census (approx. budget of USD $25 million). I also managed more than 30 national official surveys and a process of modernization of the Institute (approx. annual budget USD $ 17 million). In the same period I wrote two books about demography: “La Nueva Cara Socio-Demografica del Ecuador” (The new Socio-demographic face of Ecuador) and “Diagnostico de la Estadistica Demografica del Ecuador” (Diagnostic of Demographic Statistics in Ecuador).
2013-present
In the year 2012 I decided to quit my job as a Director of INEC. I accepted an invitation as Visiting Scholar in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, working at the Carolina Population Center. I worked under the supervision of the Professor Ronald Rindfuss with the intention to link my two previous academic interests: demography and sustainability. I contributed with the chapter “The Socio Economic Paradox of Galapagos”, in the book “Science and Conservation in the Galapagos Islands: Frameworks & Perspectives” edited by Stephen J. Walsh and Carlos F. Mena.
In the year 2014 I started my Phd program at UC Berkeley. My present research agenda is focused in six topics:
1. (SOCIOLOGY: Migration, Inequality).- Residential Discrimination in Ecuador.
I executed an audit study to estimate several dimensions of discrimination in Ecuador. My intention is to link economic and social effects of regional migration, labor markets and residential alternatives. I work this project under the supervision of Prof. Irene Bloemraad and Prof. Jennifer Johnson-Hanks.
2. (SOCIOLOGY: Inequality).- Inequality and Development Models in Latin America
I estimate the effect of government policies on socio economic indicators in Latin America. I am currently focused in the period 2000-2013. I work with the collaboration of Prof. David Harding and Prof. Laura Enriquez.
3. (DEMOGRAPHY: Migration) Leaving Home Age and productivity.
I propose a method to estimate the mean age of leaving parent’s home using micro data from population census. The objective is to estimate the mean age of “emancipation” and its association with productivity and fertility at a country level. I have calculated an initial version for 32 countries with three waves of census. I worked the project with the supervision of Prof. Ron Lee.
4. (DEMOGRAPHY: Methodology, Public Policy) 2020 Population Census Round in Latin America.
I am interested in the improvement and evaluation of 2020 population census round in Latin America. My intention is to collect experiences in the region to contribute with critical thinking on the production of demographic statistics in the region. I founded the Latin American Observatory of Population Censuses, with the five colleagues of Demography.
5. (ECONOMICS: Public Policy) Public Regulation and Multi-criteria Methods for Evaluation.
I am working in the construction of a methodology to evaluate the effect of a public regulation using Multi-Criteria methods, contrasting its results with classic evaluations based in Cost-Benefit analysis. The objective is to propose a systematic procedure for policy makers interested on the evaluation of impacts with a multidimensional vision.
6. (ECONOMICS: Public Policy) Situation reports about Employment and inflation in Ecuador.
I publish twice a year a report in Spanish about the situation of labor market and consumer prices in Ecuador. A partial version of the report is available in this blog.
