Douglas Barrios
- Director, Policy Research
Douglas Barrios is the Director of Policy Research at Harvard’s Growth Lab, where he oversees the Lab’s portfolio of applied research collaborations with governments, multilateral organizations, and foundations worldwide. In this role, he leads the conceptualization of new research projects, talent management for a team of 40+ research fellows, and provides guidance — alongside Principal Investigator Ricardo Hausmann — across the Lab’s active country and policy research engagements.
Since joining the Growth Lab as a Research Fellow in 2015, Douglas has led and contributed to multidisciplinary research projects aimed at diagnosing growth constraints and designing strategies for productive diversification and inclusive growth. His work has spanned research projects in Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Central and South Asia, Southeast Asia, and sub-national engagements in North America and Australia — applying growth diagnostics and economic complexity methodologies to inform policy at the national, regional, and city levels.
Previously, he worked in McKinsey’s Bogotá office as a Public Sector Specialist, serving public and social sector organizations across Latin America on topics including ICT promotion and education policy design. He also served as an external policy adviser for local governments and political campaigns in Venezuela.
Douglas holds a Master’s in Public Administration and International Development from the Harvard Kennedy School (MPA-ID 2012) and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the Universidad Metropolitana in Venezuela.
Recent Publications
See AllFellow Working Papers
There is a Future after Cars: Economic Growth Analysis for Hermosillo
Faculty Working Papers
Bringing Home the Gold? A Review of the Economic Impact of Hosting Mega-Events
Fellow Working Papers
Poverty, coverage of the Missions and social protection needs for the economic reform of Venezuela
Research Projects
Project
Latin America
Charting Economic Growth Strategies in Hermosillo
As part of our research agenda on cities as engines of economic growth, researchers are studying emerging growth opportunities across Sonora with a focus on Hermosillo that stem from a context of relocation of global supply chains, green energy transition, and the rise of knowledge-intensive services.
Project
Lebanon
Towards a Sustainable Recovery for Lebanon’s Economy
As part of its research agenda on growth collapses, the Growth Lab assembled a world-class research team to assess Lebanon's economic collapse in all its dimensions.
Project
Middle East
Economic Growth and Trade in the United Arab Emirates
Multi-year collaboration with the UAE Ministry of Economy (MoE), where the Growth Lab provided rigorous and actionable research to support the MoE in their mission to promote high-quality sustainable growth, trade, and productivity-driven economic transformation.
Project
Africa
Growth Through Inclusion in South Africa
The Growth Lab is working to diagnose the causes of South Africa’s economic challenges and collaborate with government and beyond to accelerate growth and include more South Africans in the process of economic growth.
Project
Asia
Sustainable and Inclusive Growth in Kazakhstan
Advancing research to boost economic growth and development in Kazakhstan, with particular emphasis on reducing socioeconomic inequalities.
Project
Africa
Promoting Sustainable and Inclusive Prosperity in Namibia
The Growth Lab has been working with the Government of Namibia since 2020 on a project to disentangle the factors that inform Namibia’s economic prospects. The research outputs of this initiative may in turn contribute to the policymaking process in the country and inform policymakers abroad facing similar issues.
Project
Baja California
Economic Growth in Baja California, Campeche & Tabasco
The goal of this project was to diagnose the challenges and obstacles confronting Baja California, Campeche and Tabasco in terms of growth and productivity, and identify the development strategy that would allow for expansion or strengthening of their industries through transitioning to activities with greater complexity or added value.
Project
Australia
Realizing Economic Growth in Western Australia
The Growth Lab used its Growth Diagnostics and Economic Complexity methodologies to analyze the State of Western Australia’s economy and to identify avenues for productive diversification and sustainable economic transformation both at a state and regional level.