time for a change

It is time for a change - I will join the Economics Department at the University of Zurich, starting January 2014. UPF gave me my first job out of grad school, and I have been happy and productive here. In Zurich, I will join a distinguished and growing group of scholars working in several of my active areas of interest, including the evolution of social norms, macroeconomics, and economic history. I will take fond memories of UPF colleagues and students with me, and I look forward to working in an exciting new environment.

J-Pal hires more ITFD students

Congratulations to Filippo Sebastio, who will work for J-PAL (Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab) in Bangladesh, starting this summer. He will help with evaluating policy interventions designed to reduce poverty, using the randomized experiment methodology.

Fabio Sola joins the World Bank in Brasilia

Congratulations to Fabio Sola (ITFD 2011) who will be joining the World Bank's country office in Brasilia this fall. He we work in the Lead Economist's office, and will have a chance to apply his econometric skills and understanding of macrofinancial issues.

J-PAL Placement - Congratulations to Max Bode

The first ITFD graduate to join the Jamal Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) is Max Bode, who is graduating this summer. He will be heading to India for a month of data work with Erica Field and Rohini Pande, before working at the Harvard location of J-PAL for the next two years.

Youth unemployment

Many of our graduates are actively hunting for work now. Some already found good jobs, others are interns at interesting places (congrats to Paulina Tourn, who is currently with the WTO). Now, Edoardo Campanella (ITFD 08-09) has written an article highlighting the problem of youth unemployment in Europe. It's for project syndicate, which feeds content to over 140 newspapers worldwide. Luckily, Edoardo isn't talking from personal experience. He is currently an economic advisor to the Italian Senate, and was formerly an economist at the World Trade Organization.

Moving on...

It's always nice to hear from our former students, and all the more so when they are doing well. Juan Montecino, who attended the ITFD master as part of our inaugural year 2008-09, just dropped me a line from Washington, DC, where he is working for Center for Economic and Policy Research for a think tank called the Center for Economic and Policy Research. He is covering international economic developments, with a special eye on IMF policy and Latin America. Recently, he put his skills to use in the policy paper IMF-Supported Macroeconomic Policies and the World Recession: A Look at Forty-One Borrowing Countries. We hope to see more policy research from Juan in the future!