The Human Development Lab at Universidad de los Andes is pleased to welcome Christopher Neilson and Jonah Rockoff as its first International Fellows, marking a new step in the Lab’s efforts to strengthen its international academic network and deepen its connections with leading researchers working on education and human development.
Both scholars bring distinguished academic careers and extensive research experience in the economics of education. Through the new International Fellows program, the HDL seeks to build sustained links with researchers abroad whose work closely connects with the Lab’s research agenda and to create new opportunities for academic exchange, collaboration, and engagement with the HDL community.
Christopher Neilson is Professor of Economics and Global Affairs at Yale University, with a joint appointment in the Department of Economics and the Jackson School of Global Affairs. He is also a Research Associate in the Education Economics and Industrial Organization programs of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and an affiliate of J-PAL.
Neilson holds a PhD in Economics from Yale University and undergraduate and master’s degrees in Economics from Universidad de Chile. His research has been published in leading economics journals, including the American Economic Review, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Public Economics, and Journal of Development Economics.
An applied microeconomist, Neilson studies education markets and policies that expand opportunities for human capital development. His work examines how students, families, schools, and governments respond to education policies.
He has also worked closely with governments across Latin America on education policy and, in 2018, founded ConsiliumBots, which develops research-based technological tools for education. Its initiatives have reached more than two million families across the region.
His research on school choice, admissions, information, and educational inequality closely connects with the HDL’s work on how institutions and public policies shape educational opportunities.
Jonah Rockoff is the Paul Garrett Professor of Public Policy and Business Responsibility in the Economics Division at Columbia Business School and a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).
Rockoff received his PhD in Economics from Harvard University and his BA in Economics from Amherst College. He joined Columbia Business School in 2004 and has since held a series of senior academic positions at the institution, including serving as Senior Vice Dean for Curriculum and Programs.
Rockoff is a leading scholar in the economics of education. His research examines the organization, financing, and performance of public schools, with particular attention to teacher hiring, effectiveness, personnel policies, and their effects on students’ educational and adult outcomes.
His work on teachers, schools, and human capital brings an important perspective to the HDL’s research agenda and its interest in how education systems shape opportunities throughout the life cycle.
The creation of the International Fellows category represents a new stage in the development of the Human Development Lab. By incorporating researchers based at leading international universities, the HDL aims to strengthen the exchange of ideas across institutions and countries and create further opportunities for collaboration around questions in education, labor, social policy, and human development.
The arrival of Christopher Neilson and Jonah Rockoff as the Lab’s first International Fellows brings two internationally recognized researchers in the economics of education into the HDL community, broadening the perspectives and academic connections that contribute to the Lab’s research and public-policy mission.
The Human Development Lab looks forward to their participation in the Lab’s academic activities and to the research conversations and collaborations that may emerge from this new stage.
