Felipe Barrera-Osorio is a Colombian

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

and associate professor of Public Policy, Education and Economics at Peabody College of Education and Human Development at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

. Barrera-Osorio's work on the economics of education earned him the Juan Luis Londono Medal, Colombia's equivalent to the

John Bates Clark Medal The John Bates Clark Medal is awarded by the American Economic Association to "that American economist under the age of forty who is adjudged to have made a significant contribution to economic thought and knowledge." The award is named after the ...

, in 2008.

Biography

Felipe Barrera-Osorio earned a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

and master's degree in economics from the Universidad de los Andes (Colombia) in 1992, followed by a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in economics from the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...

in 2003. During his graduate studies, Barrera-Osorio specialized on

public economics Public economics ''(or economics of the public sector)'' is the study of government policy through the lens of economic efficiency and Equity (economics), equity. Public economics builds on the theory of welfare economics and is ultimately used as ...

labour economics Labour economics seeks to understand the functioning and dynamics of the Market (economics), markets for wage labour. Labour (human activity), Labour is a commodity that is supplied by labourers, usually in exchange for a wage paid by demanding ...

and

political economy Political or comparative economy is a branch of political science and economics studying economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and national economies) and their governance by political systems (e.g. law, institutions, and government). Wi ...

and published a thesis on the relationship between

decentralization Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those related to planning and decision-making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group and gi ...

and

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

under Jonas Gelbach, Robert Schwab, Wallace Oates, Jennifer Rice and Seth Sanders. After his graduation, Barrera-Osorio became deputy director of the Higher Education and Development Foundation (Fedesarrollo) (2004–06) before accepting a position as Senior Economist in the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

's Human Development Network on Education (2006–11). During his work for the World Bank, Barrera-Osorio led

impact evaluation Impact evaluation assesses the changes that can be attributed to a particular intervention, such as a project, program or policy, both the intended ones, as well as ideally the unintended ones. In contrast to outcome monitoring, which examines whe ...

s of educational programs in, e.g.

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. In 2011, he left the World Bank to accept a position as assistant professor of education and economics at the

Harvard Graduate School of Education The Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) is the education school of Harvard University, a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1920, it was the first school to grant the EdD degree and the first ...

, where he was promoted to associate professor in 2015. Besides his academic work, Barrera-Osorio also serves as Head of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association's Impact Evaluation Network.

Research

Felipe Barrera-Osorio's current research focuses on the impact of educational incentives on the learning of children in

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

and

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

. In the past, his research has included the role and impact of public-private partnerships in education (with Harry Anthony Patrinos and Juliana Guáqueta), the computerization of education (with Leigh Linden), the design of

conditional cash transfer Conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs aim to reduce poverty by making cash transfers conditional upon the receivers' actions. The government (or a charity) only transfers the money to persons who meet certain criteria. These criteria may inclu ...

programmes (with

Marianne Bertrand Marianne Bertrand (born c. 1970) is a Belgian economist who currently works as Chris P. Dialynas Distinguished Service Professor of Economics and Willard Graham Faculty Scholar at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business. Bertrand b ...

, Linden and Francisco Perez-Calle), and the theory and empirics of school-based management (with Patrinos, Tazeen Fasih, and Lucrecia Santibánez).Barrera-Osorio, F. et al. (2009). ''Decentralized Decision-Making in Schools: The Theory and Evidence on School-Based Management''. Washington, D.C.: World Bank Publications.

References

External links

Profile of Felipe Barrera-Osorio on the website of Vanderbilt University's Peabody College
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrera-Osorio, Felipe Living people 20th-century Colombian economists Education economists University of Los Andes (Colombia) alumni University of Maryland, College Park alumni Harvard Graduate School of Education faculty Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Colombian economists