ALUMNI
A list of my Master and PhD alumni, their research areas and contact details.
Juan Palomino
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Short BIO:

I am a Professor in the Department of Economics of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. I earned my Master of Science degree in Applied Economics with a mention in Regional Studies from Universidad Católica del Norte in 2018. My research areas include: (i) Migration and Commuting, (ii) Health Economics, (iii) Climate Change (iv) Discrete choice models, and (v) Randomized Control Trial. My current research focuses on measuring the effect of temperature and precipitation on respiratory diseases of individuals in the Coast, Highlands, and Jungle of Peru using spatial gravitation models. Outside of my academic interest, I like cooking delicious Peruvian food  (Juane, Ceviche, and Lomo Saltado), and play sports like soccer and swimming. 
Gustavo Ahumada (co-advising with Victor Iturra)


Short BIO:

I am a research assistant for Professor Víctor Iturra in the Instituto de Economía Aplicada Regional (IDEAR by its initials in Spanish) at the Universidad Católica del Norte, Chile. I earned my Master of Science degree in Applied Economics with mention in Regional Studies from Universidad Católica del Norte in 2018. My research areas include: (i) Individual Subjective Well-Being and its relationship with urban and environmental amenities; (ii) Amenities and regional labor markets; (iii) Discrete choice models. My current research focuses on measuring the effect of air pollution on individual subjective well-being. Outside my academic interest. I like listening to music and reading high fantasy books such as Chronicle of king killer and Mistborn.
 Anita Molina

  • Degree                  :  Master in Applied Economics mention in Regional Studies, UCN, Antofagasta, Chile. ​
  • Thesis title           : "Your Air Pollution Makes Me Sick! Estimating the Spillover Effect of PM2.5 on Emergency Room Visits in Chile."
  • Defense                 :  2020
  • Current position :  Professor 
  • Web                        : 

Short BIO:

I obtained my degree at the Catholic University of the North where I currently do microeconomics classes for undergraduate. I also do statistics and project evaluation classes at the Santo Tomas University. My area of ​​interest in research is behavioral economics. I also like to write stories, sing and ride my bike.
 Diana Romero


Short BIO:

I am currently working on a project linked to Instituto de Economía Aplicada Regional (IDEAR by its initials in Spanish) at the Universidad Católica del Norte, Chile. This project is coordinated by Professor Miguel Atienza. I earned my Master of Science degree in Applied Economics with mention in Regional Studies from Universidad Católica del Norte in 2020. My areas of interest are: (i) Subjective well-being and its relationship with urban amenities; (ii) Health economics; (iii) Public policies. Outside my academic interest, I like listening to music, cooking and hang out with my friends.
 Camilo Quinteros (co-advising with Yasna Cortés)


Short BIO:

I am a professor at the Institute for Development, Economics and Sustainability Studies (IDEEAS) of the Universidad Tecnológica de Bolívar (Cartagena de Indias, Colombia), where I teach macroeconomics and microeconomics courses for undergraduate students. I earned my Master of Science degree in Applied Economics with mention in Regional Studies from Universidad Católica del Norte in 2020. My areas of interest are: (i) Education Economics (ii) Health Economics, (iii) Spatial Inequality and (iv) Urban policies. My current research focuses on studying the relationship between the education market and the housing market in Chile, to analyze the effect of the endogenous location of schools in the provision of public and private goods (amenities). Also, I am studying the crowding effect on the emergency rooms of the Chilean health system using the geographical distance radios approach. Outside of my academic interest, I like to train at the gym, play soccer and watch movies.
 Alejandra Blanco

  • Degree :  Master in Applied Economics mention in Regional Studies, UCN, Antofagasta, Chile. ​
  • Thesis title : "Socio-emotional development and body weight in early childhood: Is the weight penalty sensitive to imperfect instruments"
  • Defense                 :  2021
  • Current position :  Research assistant, UCN.
  • Web                        : 

Short BIO:

I am currently an undergraduate professor in the area of Microeconomics at the Universidad Católica del Norte. I earned my  Master's degree in Applied Economic Sciences with mention in Regional Studies from the Universidad Católica del Norte in 2021. My areas of interest include: (i) health economics, (ii) Poverty and spatial inequality and (iii)Subjective well-being. Currently, my research analyzes the sensitivity of body weight penalty estimates (measured by BMI) on socio-emotional development during childhood in Chile using different instrumental variables. Besides research, I enjoy cooking, watching movies and walking.
 Cristian Ortiz


Short BIO:

I am a research assistant at the ESAI Business School of the Universidad de Especialidades Espíritu Santo. I obtained my Master's research in Applied Economic Sciences with mention in Regional Studies from the Universidad Católica del Norte-Chile in 2021. My areas of interest are: (i) Economics of natural resources (ii) Environmental economics (iii) Subjective well-being (iv) Regional entrepreneurship and innovation (v) Spatial analysis. Currently my research analyzes the spatial effects and mechanisms of new firm formation and its impact on the productivity of manufacturing incumbents. Outside of my academic interests, I enjoy playing video games, playing guitar and hang out with my friends.