Ricardo Benzecry

Ricardo joined the Growth Lab as a Research Fellow in 2025. He specializes in applying data science and machine learning methods to economic and policy research. His work spans labor markets, poverty analysis, impact evaluation, and macroeconomic analysis.

Ricardo began at a policy research consultancy in Venezuela, where he led teams conducting experimental research on labor and housing market discrimination in Latin American countries with the IDB. He then joined the World Bank’s Poverty and Equity division, leading household data collection operations and contributing to analytical reports that guide policy interventions.

His technical work includes applying machine learning to estimate the impact of oil policies on human capital, mapping socioeconomic conditions using small area estimation techniques, and exploring the economic implications of emerging AI technologies. Ricardo also taught Development Economics and Data Science at Universidad Católica Andrés Bello.

Ricardo holds a Master of Public Administration in Data Science for Public Policy from the London School of Economics and a BA in Economics from Universidad Católica Andrés Bello. His research interests focus on labor markets and the impact of emerging technologies, economic complexity, and inequality reduction.