See below selected policy experiences along with related papers.
I worked at the IMF's African Department for a year and a half covering Ghana, Togo, and Benin. This was a formative experience.
With the Togo team I specialized in Debt Management and had the opportunity to meet with authorities in Togo to discuss these issues.
With the Benin team I specialized in matters related to exchange rates and I gave a presentation on equilibirium exchange rates to delegates from the BCEAO.
With the Ghana team I was tasked with writing a model to explore the impact of the oil windfall on inflation and explore various scenarios.
I also worked alongside other economists on issues related to inflationa targeting in emerging countries, and we illustrated our methodology with Ghana's economy.
Selected related papers:
I spent a year and a half at the IMF Institute (now the Institute for Capacity Development), which focuses on helping countries strengthen their economic policy capacity. A key part of this work involved training officials on the IMF’s methods for analyzing economies and simulating policy scenarios, both of which require a solid understanding of national accounts and the interconnections between economic sectors. I delivered these trainings in English, French, and Arabic, covering topics essential for policymakers and economic analysts.
I worked on the U.S. and Canada desks from 2011 to 2013, a time when the global economy was still finding its footing after the Great Financial Crisis. Some countries were recovering faster than others, and in the U.S., the big debates centered on housing and financial regulation—both of which ended up shaping the trajectory of my research from that point forward.
At the time, monetary policy had largely run its course—the Fed had done everything it could, and there was little expectation that it could (or should) do more. We believed fiscal policy was too restrictive, but that was more of a political reality, so we had to take it as given.
With that backdrop, most of my work focused on the housing market, digging into its institutional details in both the U.S. and Canada. While the two systems share similarities, they also have key structural differences that shaped how the crisis played out in each country. Beyond housing, I also contributed to broader macroeconomic analysis, including research on the impact of the Fiscal Cliff and its potential effects on growth.
The Systemic Risk Institute consists of three interrelated events, held annually since 2014 during the summer months. It begins with a two-week workshop for a small group of economists employed in macroprudential roles in regulatory agencies and central banks. I had the priviledge to be selected by the IMF's attendant in 2014. During these two weeks we delved into a list of topics that we prepared ahead of the workshop. The Institute was conceived by Prof. Andrew Metrick, at the Yale School of Management, as form of training for representatives from regulatory agencies. The workshop, which is described in more detail in this WSJ article , provided me with valuable knowledge and perspectives that remain relevant until today.
While at the Research Department from 2013 to 2019, I served as a reviewer for several European countries, including Eurozone members such as Greece. My role was to provide feedback to the country team on their analysis, discussions, and proposals while also contributing to the analytical work. For example, I contributed to debt substainability studies (see below). Additionally, I was selected by the Independent Evaluation Office to contribute to a paper on how the IMF handled the crisis in Greece. It was an insightful experience, as I had the opportunity to review most communications on the subject within the IMF.
At the Research Department (RES), I became the primary point of contact for housing-related matters at the Fund. Throughout much of my tenure, I was responsible for maintaining and improving an analytical model that tracked the health of commercial and residential real estate markets across 50+ countries with available data. I also provided feedback and modeling support to country teams where housing was a key issue, including China, Australia, the Netherlands, and Sweden.
During my fellowship at Milken Institute (Los Angeles), I advised a team of macroeconomists, attending meetings and providing input on various projects. One notable policy paper examined discrepancies in ESG ratings, exploring the role of AI in processing firm disclosures—including less formal announcements such as Twitter posts. The study found evidence that these communications influence rating agencies and highlighted the benefits of a more unified and transparent ESG rating framework.