Research

My research examines how institutions, expertise, and data infrastructures shape the production of official knowledge, social classification, and state capacity. I combine relational quantitative analysis, archival research, interviews, and cross-national data to study official statistics, population measurement, anti-corruption expertise, and economic expertise across national and transnational settings.

Quantification

(NEW) Manufactured Invisibility: Statistical Infrastructure Erosion and the Reconfiguration of Anticorruption and Anti–Organized Crime Capacity in Ecuador

Examines how the erosion of statistical infrastructures weakens the state’s capacity to produce comparable, auditable, and contestable evidence on crime, justice, and corruption. Using Ecuador, it develops “manufactured invisibility” to explain how discontinuity, classification drift, and weakened audit trails reshape evidentiary governance.
Frontiers in Political Science 8:1812428, 2026.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpos.2026.1812428

Population Censuses in Crisis: United States, Brazil, and Ecuador in comparative perspective

Compares census controversies in the United States, Brazil, and Ecuador to examine how political intervention affects census production. It shows how institutional autonomy, legal protections, and social mobilization shape statistical agencies’ capacity to preserve the integrity and legitimacy of population censuses.
In The Global Politics of Census Taking: Quantifying Populations, Institutional Autonomy, Innovation.
Edited by Walter Bartl, Christian Suter, Alberto Veira-Ramos, Routledge, 2024

Statistical Innovation in the Global South Mechanisms of Translation In Censuses of Brazil, Ecuador, Ghana and Sierra Leone

Examines how statistical innovations travel across population censuses in Brazil, Ecuador, Ghana, and Sierra Leone. It identifies four mechanisms shaping their translation: international intervention, commercial and institutional brokerage, initiatives by local professional communities, and political instability.
Comparative Sociology, 21(4), 419-446, 2022
Coauthors: Alena Thiel, Daniel Capistrano, and Christyne Carvalho Da Silva.

Statistical expertise in the Ecuadorian public administration: Emergence and legitimation mechanisms (In Spanish)

Traces the historical emergence and legitimation of statistical expertise in Ecuadorian public administration. It examines how international missions, regional organizations, professional communities, and the growing automation of state management contributed to the formation of a field of statistical expertise. 
Iconos, Revista de Ciencias Sociales, 71, 81-102, 2021

The Latin American Observatory of Population Censuses

Examines the creation of the Latin American Observatory of Population Censuses as an academia–civil society network for strengthening statistical literacy and public oversight. It reflects on how independent monitoring can increase scrutiny of census production, methodological change, and the politics surrounding official population statistics.
In The Global Politics of Census Taking: Quantifying Populations, Institutional Autonomy, Innovation.
Edited by Walter Bartl, Christian Suter, Alberto Veira-Ramos, Routledge, 2024. 
Coauthors: Mendes G., Sacco N.

Gender Politics in Latin American Censuses: the case of Brazil and Ecuador

Examines how gender-related measurement entered population censuses in Brazil and Ecuador. It shows how political conditions, institutional capacity, and social mobilization shape which gender categories become statistically visible and how census instruments respond to changing demands for recognition.
In Advances in Gender Research, 28, 119-139, 2019
Coauthor: Thome D.

Expertise Networks Behind LGBTI+ Quantification

Examines how efforts to make census measurement more inclusive can generate new forms of exclusion in practice. Focusing on gender and sexual-orientation measurement in Latin America, the project analyzes how classification choices, implementation practices, and statistical procedures shape the visibility of gender and sexual minorities.
Working paper. With Tara Gonsalves and Nua Fuentes.

Statistical Misgovernance: Critical Census Comparative (In Portuguese)

Examines the political economy of census production in Latin America and the growing role of private and technical actors in public statistics. It argues for understanding statistical crises not only as technical failures, but as moments that reveal changing relationships among state authority, expertise, and statistical infrastructure.
In Censo 2021: Experiências na América do Sul SNT IBGE.

Contested Resilience: The effects of the Manabi-Ecuador earthquake in the predisposition to participate in spaces of cooperation (in Spanish)

Uses a difference-in-differences design to examine whether the 2016 Manabí earthquake changed individuals’ willingness to participate in cooperative spaces. The analysis finds no general post-disaster increase in participation and shows how responses vary with social, economic, and demographic characteristics.
Revista de Estudios sobre Reducción de Riesgos de Desastres – REDER, 5(2), 125-137, 2021
Coauthor: Vera D.

The Socioeconomic Paradox of Galapagos: An analysis of socioeconomic scenarios in Galapagos

Analyzes demographic and socioeconomic conditions in the Galápagos Islands using population and administrative statistics. It identifies a “Galápagos paradox”: comparatively favorable health and income indicators coexist with high living costs, infrastructure constraints, migration pressures, and a labor market strongly structured around tourism.
In Walsh S., Mena C., “Social and Ecological Interactions in the Galapagos Islands.” Springer: 69–86, 2013
Coauthor: Carrillo D.

Data Sources and National Statistical Systems (In Spanish)

Assesses the data sources and national statistical systems available for monitoring population and development in Latin America and the Caribbean. It evaluates the availability, comparability, and transparency of censuses, vital statistics, and other demographic sources used to monitor the Montevideo Consensus and the Sustainable Development Goals.
In Implementación del Consenso de Montevideo sobre Población y Desarrollo: en América Latina y El Caribe, (“Data Sources and National Statistical Systems” in Implementation of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean). ALAP & UNFPA–Oficina Regional de América Latina y el Carib, 2020
Coauthors: Roussset B., Mendes G., Nathan M.

Expertise and Anti-Corruption

(NEW) Governing Expertise through Anti-Corruption: How Governance Mechanisms Authorize Expertise and Ratify Power

This paper examines how anti-corruption governance authorizes particular forms of expertise and reinforces unequal positions within the field. It identifies the institutional mechanisms through which indicators, advisory practices, organizational arrangements, and audit processes shape who gains authority to define corruption problems and legitimate solutions. ​
Frontiers in Political Science 8:1869966, 2026.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpos.2026.1869966

The Structure of the Anti-Corruption Field

Over the past three decades, anti-corruption has become central to development, governance, and democracy agendas, reshaping political practice and how knowledge is produced. Yet research often overlooks how anti-corruption expertise is formed and used. This study examines the field’s historical roots, key actors, methods, and channels of influence, and how inequalities in knowledge production affect policy. Using a historic, reflexive, relational approach, it identifies three dominant power poles—American academics, quantitative economists, and media-visible practitioners—highlighting unequal autonomy, stability, and ties to international financial institutions. ​
In A Comparative Historical Sociology of Corruption. Edited by Marco Garrido, Marina Zaloznaya, and Nicholas Wilson, Cambridge University Press, 2025.

The Gender Composition of the Anti-Corruption Expertise

This research explores the gender composition and power dynamics within the field of anti-corruption expertise.​ It highlights the predominance of men in the field, particularly in academic, economic, and political capitals, resulting in more publications, tenure opportunities, and prizes. ​ The document emphasizes the need to address gender imbalances in order to achieve a more democratic and decolonized production of anti-corruption knowledge. ​ Additionally, it identifies five contradictions that need to be resolved to achieve a more inclusive approach to combating corruption. ​
In Corruption and Anti-Corruption Upside Down: New Perspectives from the Global South. Edited by Odilla, and Konstantinos, Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2024.

Economic Expertise

The Subordination of Economic Expertise: The Case of the Ecuadorian Dollarization

Under what conditions is economic expertise produced, and how do elites shape it? We analyze Ecuador’s 2000 dollarization by examining 131 experts’ backgrounds and elite ties across four decades. Using field theory, correspondence analysis, and interviews, we show expertise is largely subordinated to elite interests through political, economic, media, and academic networks. Experts did not drive dollarization but adapted to elite convenience, while those with more cultural than economic capital became marginalized. These findings underscore the risks of a homogeneous expertise field aligned with elite agendas.
Villacis, Byron, and William Echeverria. 2025. “The Subordination of Economic Expertise: The Case of the Ecuadorian Dollarization.” Historical Social Research 50: 256299. https://doi.org/10.12759/HSR.50.2025.25.

Other Writing

(NEW) Practical Guide to Measuring Corruption: Transforming National Anti-Corruption Priorities into Evidence-Based Action

This United Nations Practical Guide helps countries operationalize the UNODC Statistical Framework to Measure Corruption. It provides a practical seven-step approach covering coordination, data collection, validation, integration, interpretation, dissemination, and sustainability, drawing on implementation experiences in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Kenya.
United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), 2026. Lead Author: Byron Villacis.

Comparative Digital Transformation of National Statistical Systems: Evidence from 131 Countries

This comparative study examines how national statistical systems are adapting to digital transformation across 131 countries. It analyzes differences in institutional capacity, technological modernization, data infrastructure, and organizational readiness, highlighting the uneven ways national statistical offices respond to changing expectations for official statistics.
Inter-American Development Bank, Comparative Technical Report, 2023. Principal Consultant: Byron Villacis.

Population Projections: a comparative study (In Spanish)

Population projections are vital tools for planning, managing, and evaluating public and private policies. This publication contributes to this understanding through a comparative study of population projection methods across 18 countries, both within and outside Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). It involved in-depth interviews with technical and institutional managers and a thorough review of institutional and academic documents. The research reveals three main findings.
IADB, Technical Report, 2019

Demographic Statistics in Ecuador: Diagnosis and Proposals (In Spanish)

This document diagnoses Ecuador’s state in producing demographic statistics and proposes methodological enhancements to improve their frequency and quality. It also features critical tabulations from the 2010 Population and Housing Census. The text includes methodological details and significant findings from the census, serving as a bridge between the document’s dual objectives. 
Book, INEC, 2012

Bold Country: The New Socio-Demographic Face of Ecuador (In Spanish)

This paper examines demographic changes in Ecuador primarily using statistics from population and housing censuses and other official sources. Population and housing censuses are favored for analysis due to their extensive coverage, ability for territorial breakdown, data quality, and ideal timeframe for studying structural social changes. While the focus is on social dynamics from 2000 to 2010, data from earlier censuses, including 1990 and earlier, are also utilized to identify longer-term trends.
Book, INEC, 2012

Microentrepreneurs in Mexico: Profiling Motivations and Preferences

This report presents a data analysis from a survey designed and executed by the author. The author conceptualizes and operationalizes the category of “Strivers,” who are micro-entrepreneurs with the potential for growth but limited connectivity to critical networks. The findings show that micro-entrepreneurs in Mexico prefer informal and individual loans and underutilize technology in their businesses.
Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, Institute for Business & Social Impact – UC Berkeley, Haas School of Business, 2018

Selected Public Writing

Guest Writer – Diario El Universo

2016 – currently active

La innovacion Tecnológica y los Censos de Poblacion

Observatorio Latinoamericano de Censos de Poblacion, OLAC. Aug 13, 2021.

Projections vs Censuses: a brief note on their political impact

Observatorio Latinoamericano de Censos de Poblacion, OLAC. Apr 21, 2021.

Trudeau no es Turnbull: Fracasos Censales y Legitimidad Polıtica

Observatorio Latinoamericano de Censos de Poblacion, OLAC. Sep 16, 2016.

Tecnocensos, o censos para humanos

Observatorio Latinoamericano
de Censos de Poblacion, OLAC. March 15, 2016.

De la dependencia a la interdependencia estadıstica

Observatorio Latinoamericano de Censos de Poblacion, OLAC. Nov 19, 2015.

F de Fernanda, F de Festejo

GkillCity. Feb 10, 2014.

13 Consejos para Jóvenes Burócratas

GkillCity. Sep 23, 2013.