Professional Experience
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Professor of Practice, Harvard Graduate School of Education, July 2022-present.
Director, Education Policy Lab for Latin America (ELLA) at the HGSE (January 2024-present).
Faculty Affiliate and Co-Chair of Global Education and Research: Unleashing Potential (GEAR:UP), Harvard Center for International Development, August 2022-present.
Faculty Affiliate, David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, August 2022-present.
Lecturer in Economics of Education, Graduate School of Education, Fall Semester 2001-02. Co-instructor of a graduate-level course on applied microeconomics and international education.
Instructor in “Microeconomics: A Policy Tool for Educators,” Graduate School of Education, Fall Semester 2000-01. Instructor of graduate-level course on applied microeconomics.
Teaching Fellow in “Education and the Economy,” Graduate School of Education, January to May 1998. Teaching Assistant in a graduate-level seminar on Economics and Education.
Teaching Fellow in “Applied Data Analysis,” Graduate School of Education, September 1997 to January 1998. Teaching Assistant in a graduate-level course on Applied Statistics.
Teaching Fellow in “Microeconomics: A Policy Tool for Educators,” Graduate School of Education, September 1996 to January 1997. Teaching Assistant in a graduate-level course on Microeconomics.
THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION
Senior Fellow and Co-Director, Center for Universal Education. August 2019-March 2022.
INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK, Washington, DC.
Division Chief, Education. September 2012-July 2019.
Consultant, Sustainable Development Department, Education Division, August 1999 to June 2000.
THE WORLD BANK, Washington, DC.
Lead Economist, Human Development Department. August 2011-August 2012.
Sr. Education Economist, Human Development Department. October 2008-August 2011.
Sr. Education Economist, Latin America & Caribbean Region, Human Development Department.
April 2006-September 2008.
Education Economist, Latin America & Caribbean Region, Human Development Department.
April 2003-April 2006.
Young Professional, Middle East & North Africa Region, Human Development Department.
August 2002-March 2003.
Young Professional, Development Economics Research Group. September 2001- July 2002.
Consultant, Latin America and Caribbean Region, September 1998 to July 1999. Summer Intern, Latin America and Caribbean Region, June-August 1998.
RESEARCH TRIANGLE INSTITUTE, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
Public Policy Analyst, Center for International Development, September 1992 to August 1995.
Summer Intern, Center for International Development, June to August 1992.
Education
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Doctor of Education. June 2001. Graduate School of Education, Department of Administration, Planning and Social Policy.
Fields: Economics of Education, Education Policy, Applied Econometrics
Master of Education. Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, Massachusetts. June 1996.
DUKE UNIVERSITY, Durham, North Carolina.
Master of Public Policy, Sanford Institute of Public Policy, May 1993.
UNIVERSIDAD CATÓLICA ANDRÉS BELLO, Caracas, Venezuela.
Bachelor in Arts (Licenciado). Social Communications/Journalism, cum laude, November, 1991.
Boards and Volunteer Activities
• Chair, Strategic Partners Board, What Works in Global Education Hub (May 2024-present).
• Member, Board of Directors, SUMMA, Laboratory of Education Research and Innovation for Latin America and the Caribbean, June 2024-present.
• Member, Board of Directors, The Jacobs Foundation, Switzerland, January 2021-present.
• Member-at-large, Governing Board, UNESCO International Institute for Education Planning, January 2022-present.
• Member, Advisory Board, Equilibrium Social Development Consulting, April 2022-present.
• Member, Board of Trustees, The Ethel Walker School, Simsbury, Connecticut, 2020-2024.
• Member, Parent Leadership Committee, Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, New Hampshire, 2016-2021.
Professional Service
• Member, Bereday Award Sub-committee, Comparative Education Review (2024).
Education Advisor, Latin American Business Council (March 2023-present).
• Senior Advisor, Equilibrium Social Development Consulting, (January 2022-present).
• Advisor, Education Government Practice, Bain & Co. (November 2021-present).
• Referee service for Applied Economics, Comparative Education Review, Economics of Education Review, Economic Development and Cultural Change, Education Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Teachers College Record, American Journal of Education, Journal of Public Economics, International Journal of Educational Development, Journal of School Choice, Rural and Remote Health, Journal of Population Economics.
• Member, Committee to Visit the Harvard Graduate School of Education (March 2020-June 2022).
• Member, Global Future Council on Education and Skills, World Economic Forum (2020-2021).
• Juror, WISE Prize (2022-2023).
• Member, WISE Prize Committee (2021).
• Member, KIX-LAC Advisory Board (2020-2023).
• Member, Global Advisory Council, Organization of Iberoamerican States, September 2019-present.
• Member, Advisory Council, Observatory for School Management, Empresarios por la Educación (Colombia’s business coalition for education), February 2021-August 2022.
• Member, MIT Solve Jury for 2021 Equitable Classrooms Challenge.
• Member, Technical Working Group, World Bank Technology for Teaching Initiative, February 2021present.
• Member, Global Advisory Council for CIPPEC (Argentina’s premier think tank), March 2020-present.
• Member, MIT Solve Jury for 2018 Teaching and Learning Prize.
• Member, Intellectual Leadership Team for Research on Improving Systems of Education Programme, RISE, 2014-2022.
• Mentor, Future Global Leaders Fellowship, 2017-2020.
• Member, Global Advisory Council, Teach for All (2016-2019).
• Member, Advisory Group of the Organization of American States’ Inter-American Teacher Education Network (2012-2016).
• Member, Alumni Council of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, Massachusetts (2009-2013).
Honors, Grants, and Fellowships
• “An Impact that Spans the Americas,” Featured in 100 Stories of Impact celebrating the Centennial of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, April 2020.
• Nonresident Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution, Global Economy and Development, Brookings Global, CERES Economic and Social Policy in Latin America Initiative, 2016-present.
• 1 of 10 Alumni featured in Harvard Graduate School of Education’s publication, Stories of Impact, 2011.
• Corporate Leadership Program, The World Bank, 2008-09.
• Spencer Dissertation Fellowship for Research Related to Education, 2000-01.
• Award for Academic Excellence from Mariscal de Ayacucho Foundation. Caracas, Venezuela. March 1992.
• Fellowship from Center for Training and Development for Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (Venezuelan Petroleum Corporation). Caracas, Venezuela. July 1991 – July 1993.
Languages
§ Spanish (mother tongue).
§ Fluent English.
§ Proficient French and Italian.
§ Intermediate Portuguese.
Authored and Edited Books
Vegas, Emiliana. (Forthcoming, September 2024). Let’s Change the World. How to work within international development organizations to make a difference. New York, NY: Rowman & Littlefield.
Elacqua, Gregory, Diana Hincapié, Emiliana Vegas, and Mariana Alfonso (2018). Profession: Teacher. Why the teaching profession lost its prestige in Latin America and the Caribbean, and how to recover it? Washington, DC: The Inter-American Development Bank. [Available in Spanish and Portuguese.]
Vegas, Emiliana, Lucrecia Santibáñez and others. (2010). The Promise of Early Childhood Development in Latin America and the Caribbean: Issues and Policy Options to Help Realize It. Latin American Forum Series. Washington, DC: The World Bank.
Vegas, Emiliana and Jenny Petrow. (2007). Raising Student Learning in Latin America: The Challenge for the 21st Century. Latin American Forum Series. Washington, DC: The World Bank.
Vegas, Emiliana, ed. (2005). Incentives to Improve Teaching: Lessons from Latin America. Directions in Development Series. Washington, DC: The World Bank.
Peer-reviewed Publications
Psacharopoulos, George, Victoria Collis, Harry A. Patrinos, and Emiliana Vegas. (2021). “The COVID-19 Cost of School Closures in Earnings and Income across the World.” Comparative Education Review (May).
Vegas, Emiliana and Chelsea Coffin (2015). “When education expenditure matters: An empirical analysis of recent international data.” Comparative Education Review (May) 59(2):289-304.
Rogers, F. Halsey and Emiliana Vegas. (2009). “No More Cutting Class?” The World Bank Research Digest.
McEwan, Patrick, Miguel Urquiola and Emiliana Vegas. (2008). “School choice, stratification, and information on school performance: Lessons from Chile.” Economia 8(2): 1-42.
Umansky, Ilana and Emiliana Vegas. (2007). “Inside Decentralization: How Three Central American Schoolbased Management Reforms Affect Student Learning through Teacher Incentives.” World Bank Research Observer, 22: 197-215.
Vegas, Emiliana. (2007). “Teacher Labor Markets in Developing Countries.” The Future of Children 17 (1): 219232. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University and The Brookings Institution.
Vegas, Emiliana, Richard J. Murnane, and John B. Willett. (2001). “From High School to Teaching: Many Steps. Who Makes It?” Teachers College Record. 103(3): 427-449. New York: Teachers College.
Murnane, Richard J. and Emiliana Vegas. (1997). “The Nation’s Teaching Force.” Teachers College Record 99(1): 36-41. New York: Teachers College.
Selected Institutional Publications & Book Chapters
Patrinos, Harry, Emiliana Vegas and Rohan Carter-Rau. (2023). “An Analysis of COVID-19 Student Learning Loss.” Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Economics and Finance.
González, Javier and Emiliana Vegas. 2022. “The Long Chilean Road Towards Inclusive Education Systems: From Laissez-Faire to State Regulation and Constitutional Change.” In Lee, Jaekyung and Kenneth K. Wong, eds., Centering Whole-Child Development in Global Education Reform. International Perspectives on Agendas for Educational Equity and Quality. Taylor & Francis.
Vegas, Emiliana. 2022. “Es urgente transformar la educación en América Latina y en Colombia.” In: Educación en Colombia: un sistema con más oportunidades y mayor equidad. National Ministry of Education of Colombia.
Goger, Annelies, Allyson Parco, and Emiliana Vegas. 2022. “Learning and working in the digital age: Advancing opportunities and identifying the risks.” The Brookings Institution.
Vegas, Emiliana. 2022. “COVID-19’s impact on learning losses and learning inequality in Colombia.” The Brookings Institution.
Goger, Annelies, Allyson Parco, and Emiliana Vegas. 2022. “The promises and perils of new technologies to improve education and employment opportunities.” The Brookings Institution.
Vegas, Emiliana, Michael Hansen and Brian Fowler. 2021. “Building Skills for Life: How to expand and improve computer science education around the world.” The Brookings Institution.
Vegas, Emiliana, Sheral Shah and Brian Fowler. 2021. “Ed tech and educational opportunity during the COVID-19 school closures.” The Brookings Institution.
Vegas, Emiliana and Rebecca Winthrop. 2020. “Global Education: How to Transform Education Systems?” In: Reimagining the Global Economy: Building Back Better in a Post-Covid-19 World. The Brookings Institution.
Ganimian, Alejandro, Emiliana Vegas and Frederick Hess. 2020. Realizing the Promise: How can education technology improve learning for all? Center for Universal Education, The Brookings Institution.
Vegas, Emiliana and Rebecca Winthrop. 2020. Beyond reopening schools: How can education emerge stronger than before COVID-19? Center for Universal Education, The Brookings Institution.
Vegas, Emiliana. 2020. “Reopening Schools: Insights from Denmark and Finland.” In John R. Allen and Darrell M. West, eds., Reopening the World, The Brookings Institution.
Psacharopoulos, George, Victoria Collis, Harry Anthony Patrinos and Emiliana Vegas. 2020. “Lost Wages:
The COVID-19 Cost of School Closures.” Policy Research Working Paper 9246. Washington, DC: The World Bank.
Vegas, Emiliana. 2020. “School closures, government responses, and learning inequality around the world during COVID-19.” Center for Universal Education, The Brookings Institution.
Vegas, Emiliana. 2020. “What can COVID-19 teach us about strengthening education systems? A conversation with the dean of Harvard Graduate School of Education,” Brookings.
Vegas, Emiliana. 2018. “5 lessons from recent educational reforms in Chile,” in Sebastian Strauss and Ernesto Talvi, eds., Spotlight Latin America: Key trends and challenges for the region in 2018. Brookings.
Akyeampong, Kwame, Emiliana Vegas, Freda Wolfenden, Kaitlynn Sandanha, Haifa Dia Al-Attia, Brett Wigdortz, Evelyn Oduro, and José Weinstein. 2018. Qualities of Effective Teachers Who Teach
Disadvantaged Students: Insights from the Varkey Teacher Ambassador Community. Varkey Foundation Alliances, Global Education & Skills Forum, Research for Equitable Access and Learning.
Vegas, Emiliana. 2016. “Why money matters for improving education.” The Brookings Institution.
Vegas, Emiliana and Analía Jaimovich, 2015 "The Importance of Early Childhood for Education and
Development" , Routledge Handbook of International Education and Development ed. Simon McGrath and Qing Gu, Routledge Handbooks Online.
Hruskovec, Katherina and Emiliana Vegas (2014). “Qué puede hacer Venezuela para alcanzar el éxito en educación?” In Peralta, R.D., Lares Vollmer, C. and Kerdel Vegas, F. (Eds.) Migración y Educación en Venezuela: análisis y propuestas. Caracas, Venezuela: Fundación TALVEN.
Alderman, Harold and Emiliana Vegas. (2011). “The Convergence of Equity and Efficiency in ECD Programs.” In Harold Alderman (ed.), No Small Matter: The Impact of Shocks and Human Capital Investments in Early Childhood Development. Washington, DC: The World Bank.
Vegas, Emiliana, Verónica Silva Villalobos and Amanda Epstein. (2011). “The Economic and Social Benefits of Investing in Early Childhood Development. From Programs to Policies to Build (or Strengthen) ECD Systems: Introducing SABER.” In Weigt, G., ed., Inclusive Early Childhood Development. An Underestimated Component within Poverty Reduction. Germany: Institute for Inclusive Development.
Rogers, F. Halsey and Emiliana Vegas. (2010). “Teachers in Developing Countries”, in Brewer, D. J. & McEwan, P. J., ed. Economics of Education. Amsterdam: Elsevier; and in Baker, E., McGaw, B., & Peterson, P., ed. International Encyclopedia of Education. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Balu, Rekha, Harry Patrinos, and Emiliana Vegas. (2009). “Global Development Network Education Issues Paper.” GDN Working Paper No. 10.