Expertise

Development economics; labor economics; public finance; macroeconomic policy

At the Keough School

Alejandro Estefan is assistant professor of development economics at Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs.

Courses

• Principles of Economics (undergraduate course)
• Advanced Econometrics for Finance (elective for master of global affairs)

Research and Publications

The main focus of Estefan’s research is to understand the causes of economic development to inform policy decision-making. He studies many essential topics in the field of development economics, including the factors lifting individuals out of poverty; the effects of public investments in schooling; female labor force participation and its impact on gender violence; and state capacity and tax revenue collection.

Estefan’s research approach relies on the application of rigorous econometric techniques to uncover the crucial causal mechanisms underlying economic development, through the analysis of longitudinal datasets and the use of structural theory. To this end, his research emphasizes multilateral collaboration between academic institutions, local authorities, and independent international research institutes to enable access to high-quality administrative records.

Biography

Before coming to Notre Dame, Estefan was a research scholar at the Institute for Fiscal Studies in London and the Center for the Economics of Human Development at the University of Chicago. His previous professional experience includes working as a policy analyst at the Presidency of the Republic of Mexico. He completed his PhD at University College London in 2019, where the Economic and Social Research Council of the United Kingdom supported his doctoral research.

Recent Work

• Digital Training for Micro-Entrepreneurs: Experimental Evidence from Guatemala (World Bank Economic Review)

News

• Economist unpacks how digital training can help entrepreneurs escape poverty