IMF Conference

Antonio Spilimbergo. is Deputy Director of the Research Department at the IMF. He received his undergraduate diploma from Bocconi and his PhD from MIT. Since 1997 he has worked at the IMF where he has been mission chief for Brazil, Italy, Slovenia, Russia, and Turkey. He is a research fellow of CEPR, William Davidson Institute, and CreAm. He is a member of the Research Advisory Board of the Central Bank of Russia. His areas of interest are: international trade, development, labor economics, political economy, and macroeconomics. His papers are published in leading academic journals, including American Economic Review, Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economics and Statistics, American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, and Journal of International Economics. He co-edited the books “Getting Back on Track: Growth, Employment, and Rebalancing in Europe”, “Brazil: Boom, Bust, and the Road to Recovery” and “Sì Vax. Dialogo tra un pragmatico e un non so”.

Luis de Mello is Director of the Country Studies Branch at the Economics Department of the OECD. Together with the country studies teams, Mr. de Mello provides leadership and strategic direction within the Economics Department, ensuring the design and implementation of analysis and policies which promote stronger, cleaner, fairer and more inclusive economic growth for member and partner countries. Structural policy surveillance, short and long term economic outlooks, public finance and macroeconomic policy analysis are among the key workstreams for policy studies. Earlier in his career, Mr. de Mello held senior positions at the OECD, including Deputy-Director of the Public Governance Directorate and Chief of Staff and Counsellor to the Chief Economist. Prior to joining the OECD, he worked as a Senior Economist at the Fiscal Affairs Department of the International Monetary Fund, and as a Lecturer at the Economics Department of the University of Kent, United Kingdom. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Kent, United Kingdom. .

Aida Caldera Sánchez is Head of Division in the OECD Economics Department, overseeing macroeconomic and structural policy analysis for nine European and Latin American countries. She previously served as Counsellor to the OECD Chief Economist, coordinating cross-country analysis, advising on policy priorities, and representing the OECD in international fora. Since joining the organization in 2009, she has led country desks for the EU, Euro Area, Spain, Ireland, and Luxembourg, and headed the Economic Resilience Unit. Earlier in her career, she worked at the European Investment Bank, Banque de France, and Bruegel, following her start as a financial analyst. She holds a PhD in Economics from the Université Libre de Bruxelles, a postgraduate degree in International Economics from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, and a bachelor’s in quantitative economics from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

Pablo Ibarraran is the Division Chief of Social Protection and Labor Markets at the Inter-American Development Bank. A Mexican national, he holds a PhD in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley, and a BA in Economics from CIDE in Mexico. Since joining the Bank in 2005, he has served as an Evaluation Economist in the Office of Evaluation and Oversight and as Lead Specialist in the Office of Strategic Planning and Development Effectiveness. His work focuses on the design, implementation, and evaluation of redistributive and social inclusion programs, as well as the aging agenda. Previously, he worked at Mexico’s Ministry of Finance and Public Credit and has been an associate researcher at the Institute of Labor Economics (IZA) in Bonn, Germany, since 2009.

Alberto Gonzalez Pandiella serves as Deputy Head of Division in the Economics Department of the OECD, where he leads the Mexico and Costa Rica desk. He has previously managed country desks for other Latin American economies, including Colombia and Chile, and has also worked on Argentina and Brazil. Before joining the OECD, he held positions in the Research and Statistics Departments of the European Central Bank.

Juan Pablo Jiménez Murillo is the Director of the Foreign Investment Directorate at the Ministry of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica since June 2023. Business professional with vast experience in management of technological services, data governance and economic development through investment promotion. He has been involved in corporate operations, with emphasis in planning and execution, generating value through continuous improvement of processes, development of business promotion strategies, negotiation with stakeholders and talent management.

Prior to his assignment, he has held several leadership positions in multinational companies such as Amazon and Equifax. Additionally, he held strategic positions at CINDE, specifically in the marketing and communications division. 

Mr. Jiménez holds a degree in Trade and International Business and a master´s degree in Management of International Trade from the National University of Costa Rica. He has also specialized in Big Data Management, Data Analytics and holds certifications such as SQL, Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt, Negotiation Strategies and Data Visualization.

Raphael Bergoeing holds a B.A. in Economics from the Universidad de Chile and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Minnesota. He is a Professor of Economics at the Business School of Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez (Chile), where his research and teaching center on economic growth and development, financial markets, and international trade. His work has been published in leading journals, including the American Economic Review, Journal of Development Economics, Review of Economic Dynamics, and The World Bank Economic Review. Dr. Bergoeing has held several senior public positions, including President of the Chilean National Evaluation and Productivity Commission, Superintendent of Banks and Financial Institutions, and Chairman of the Board of Metro de Santiago. He has also served on multiple public and private boards and consulted for international organizations such as the Federal Reserve Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, OECD, World Bank, International Development Research Centre, CAF–Development Bank of Latin America, and the United Nations. In addition to his academic and policy work, he is actively engaged in public service as an elected Council Member in Providencia (Santiago) and as a board member of the Chilean Economic Society and the Latin American Econometric Society. He is also a regular columnist for major Chilean newspapers and has participated in numerous expert panels and commissions addressing key national policy issues, including banking regulation reform, labor market modernization, minimum wage and potential output estimation, and Chile’s National Artificial Intelligence Policy.

Armine Khachatryan is a senior economist in Western Hemisphere Department of the IMF. Previously, she was senior desk for Ukraine and Albania, and resident representative in Moldova. Ms. Khachatryan joined IMF in 2007 as economist in Strategy Policy and Review Department. Prior to IMF, she worked at the World Bank and was one of the founders of monetary policy department in post-Soviet Central Bank of Armenia. Her research interests cover public finance, monetary and exchange rate policies, macro-fiscal frameworks in resource-rich countries, structural reforms, bank governance and trade finance.

Filiz Unsal is Deputy Director of the Policy and Research Branch in the Economics Department of the OECD, which produces analysis on a wide range of macroeconomic and structural policy issues and coordinates major flagship publications such as the Economic Outlook and Going for Growth. Earlier in her OECD career, she was the Head of the Structural Policy and Research Division, overseeing work on productivity, investment, artificial intelligence, demographics, and climate adaptation and modelling. Prior to joining the OECD, she worked at the International Monetary Fund, where she led various key policy and research initiatives as well as country missions. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics and an MSc in Economics and Finance from the University of York (UK). Her research, focusing on macroeconomics and international trade and finance, has been widely published and has informed policymaking across advanced and emerging economies.

Chirstopher Michael Evans, is an Economist in the Western Hemisphere Department of the International Monetary Fund, currently working on Uruguay. Previously, he has worked on Bolivia, Chile, and in the Research Department at the IMF, where he also contributed to the World Economic Outlook. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona and a Master's degree in Economic Research from the University of Cambridge.

Esteban Vesperoni is Chief of the Regional Studies Division in the Western Hemisphere Department at the IMF. He has worked in economies in Latin America, Europe, and Central Asia at the IMF Research, Fiscal Affairs, Western Hemisphere, and Strategy and Policy Review Departments, and served as resident representative in Bolivia. Previously, he held positions at the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, the Ministry of Finance in Argentina and the World Bank. He has taught at the University of Buenos Aires and the University Torcuato Di Tella in Argentina. He received a PhD in Economics from the University of Maryland at College Park.

Dan Andrews. is currently Head of the Growth, Competitiveness and Regulation Division in the OECD Economics Department, where he leads teams to analyze the implementation of structural policies and their implications for economic growth. Prior to that, he was a founding member of the e61 Institute – a big data data-driven thinktank in Australia – and inaugural Research Director and Head of Policy Engagement. Between 2018 and 2020, Dan was the Chief Adviser on Structural Reform and Head of Macroeconomic Policy Division at the Australian Treasury, where he also served as Co-Chair of the OECD Global Forum on Productivity and Australian delegate to the Working Party No 1 on Macroeconomic and Structural Policy and OECD Economic Policy Committee. Dan first joined the OECD Economics Department in 2009 and has led empirical research at the intersection of potential growth and structural policy. Dan began his career at the Reserve Bank of Australia in 1999 and undertook graduate studies at Harvard University.

Mariano Tommasi,is Professor of Economics at Universidad de San Andrés in Argentina and Director of its Center of Studies for Human Development. A Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Chicago, he specializes in political economy, institutions, human development, and social policy. He is a Fellow of the Econometric Society, former President of LACEA, and has held visiting positions at Harvard, Yale, UCLA, Columbia, and Tulane. He has served as Coordinator for Strategic Management in the Chief of Cabinet of Ministers, Office of the President of Argentina, where he collaborated in coordinating the Human Development Cabinet. He is currently a member of the Advisory Council on Social Policy at the Ministry of Human Capital in Argentina.

Marcela Meléndez, a Colombian national, is a Deputy Chief Economist at the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) Chief Economist office at the World Bank. Before joining the World Bank, she served as Chief Economist for the LAC region at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), where she led knowledge production to support policy design and decision-making in the region. Before that, she was Managing Partner at ECONESTUDIO, a Colombian boutique economic consulting and research firm recognized for its contributions to the public policy debate. She was also an Adjunct Professor at the Department of Economics of Universidad de los Andes (Colombia).

Paula Garda is Senior Economist and Head of the Colombia and Peru Desk at the OECD Economics Department. She leads macroeconomic analysis, country assessments, and policy dialogue in Colombia and Peru, and contributes to the regional analysis of Latin America region. With over 15 years of experience, her work covers macroeconomic policy, labour markets, innovation, and social development, with a focus on structural reform and growth potential in the region. She has extensive experience coordinating cross-country economic surveys and high-level policy dialogues. She holds a PhD in Economics from Pompeu Fabra University and is a Research Associate at CINVE (Uruguay).

Carola Pessino is a Senior Consultant in the Fiscal Management Division of the IDB. She currently coordinates activities of the Fiscal Equity Policy Lab, advises on issues related to spending and taxation efficiency and equity, and on improving growth through efficiency and fairness while reducing informality. 

Previously, she served as Principal Fiscal Technical Leader, where she was the first Chief of Fiscal Knowledge, improving both the quantity and quality of fiscal papers; leading and collaborating on various fiscal strengthening programs in countries across the LAC region. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Chicago. She was Secretary of Fiscal Equity (Deputy Chief of Cabinet of Ministers) of the Head of the Cabinet of Ministers in Argentina and member of the Economic Council of Advisers to the Minister of the Economy of Argentina between 1996 and 1999. During her tenure in government, she designed major projects such as the federal tax revenue sharing system and the design, implementation, and management of the first integrated information system for fiscal and social purposes (SINTyS) in Latin America of which she was also General Coordinator.

She was director of the Department of Economics at UCEMA University; Professor and director of the Center for Poverty Studies of the Torcuato Di Tella University; Professor at Duke University and Visiting Fellow at Yale University and the Center for Global Development. She is the author of dozens of academic papers on fiscal issues, both on public spending and national and sub-national taxation; in labor and social economy; and in fiscal equity, especially in Latin America, and is co-editor and main author of several chapters of the IDB flagship publication Better Spending for Better Lives.

Bernard Appy is the Extraordinary Secretary for Tax Reform at the Ministry of Finance. Bernard holds a bachelor’s degree in economy, from the University of São Paulo. Between 2003 and 2009 he held the positions of Vice Minister, Secretary of Economic Policy and Secretary of Economic-Fiscal Reforms of the Ministry of Finance. During this period, he also acted as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Banco do Brasil. From 2015 to 2022, he was director of the Tax Citizenship Center, a think tank focused on developing proposals to improve the Brazilian tax system. Bernard was also a partner and director of LCA Consultores and director of BM&FBOVESPA S.A.

Luis Fernando Mejía has been Executive Director of Fedesarrollo since 2018. He served as Colombia's Minister of Planning, as well as a researcher at the IDB and the Central Bank of Colombia. An economist from Universidad de los Andes (undergraduate and master's degrees), he completed a master's degree and doctoral studies in Economics at the University of Chicago. Under his leadership, Fedesarrollo was ranked as the number one think tank in Central and South America by the Lauder Institute. He has been recognized as one of Colombia's 30 most influential economists and ranks among the top 5% most cited in Latin America. He has published in top international academic journals including the Journal of International Economics and is a regular columnist for El Tiempo and Americas Quarterly. He has served as alternate governor of the IDB, the World Bank, and CAF, and is a member of several boards of directors.

Lusine Lusinyan is the Deputy Division Chief in the Regional Studies Division of the International Monetary Fund’s Western Hemisphere Department and the Mission Chief for Guyana. She previously worked on Canada, Argentina, Chile, and the United States, and served as the Mission Chief for Curaçao and Sint Maarten. She also held various positions in the European, Fiscal Affairs, Statistics, and Strategy, Policy, and Review Departments of the IMF. Her research interests span a range of topics, including fiscal sustainability, structural reforms, international monetary system, scenario planning, inequality, and climate change. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the European University Institute, Florence, Italy.

Ardo Hansson is the Economic Adviser to the Prime Minister of Estonia, providing strategic input on macroeconomic policy, public finance, and structural reform. He is also a member of the Supervisory Board of Finantsinspektsioon (the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority). From 2012 to 2019, he was Governor of Eesti Pank (the Bank of Estonia). As Governor, he served on the Governing Council of the European Central Bank, where he contributed to monetary policy decisions for the euro area. He previously worked at the World Bank for over a decade on economic policy and reform in Eastern Europe, the Western Balkans, and China. Earlier in his career, he held senior advisory roles in the Estonian government and academic positions at the University of British Columbia, United Nations University and Stockholm School of Economics. Dr. Hansson holds a B.A. (Honours) in economics from the University of British Columbia and both an A.M and Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University.

John McCarthy. [coming soon]

Carlos Scartascini, is Principal Technical Leader at the Research Department of the Inter-American Development Bank and Leader of the Research Department Behavioral Economics Group. He has published eight books and about 90 articles in academic journals and edited volumes. He is a member of the Executive Committee of IDB's GDLab, member of the Scientific Committee of Elcano Royal Institute, member of the Board of Advisors of the Master of Behavioral and Decision Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, Associate Editor of the academic journal Economía, and Founding Member of LACEA's BRAIN (Behavioral Insights Network).

Andrés Velasco. [coming soon]

Gabriel Oddone is a Uruguayan economist with a long-standing career in economic analysis and public policy. He holds a Ph.D. in Economic History from the University of Barcelona and previously served as a partner at the consultancy CPA Ferrere, where he advised on macroeconomic, fiscal, and financial matters. Oddone has also been a columnist, researcher, and university professor, contributing to Uruguay’s economic debate for over two decades. He assumed the role of Uruguay's Minister of Economy and Finance on March 2025, under President Yamandú Orsi.

Carlos Gustavo Fernández Valdovinos, Economist. Ph.D. in Economics, Master's in Economic Policy. He has vast experience in the implementation of public policies. He was Manager of Economic Studies at the Central Bank of Paraguay (2001-2004). He held the position of Senior Economist for Argentina at the World Bank (2004-2006) in Washington, DC. Later, at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), he served as Senior Economist in the Africa, Europe and Western Hemisphere departments. Since 2011, he has been the IMF's resident representative for Brazil and Bolivia. Served as President of the Central Bank of Paraguay (2013 to 2018).

Omar Licandro has been Professor of Economics at the University of Leicester since July 2023. He previously held professorial and research appointments at the University of Nottingham, the Instituto de Análisis Económico (CSIC) in Barcelona, the European University Institute in Florence, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, and FEDEA in Madrid. He served as Secretary-General of the International Economic Association (IEA) from 2013 to 2021 and is currently its Treasurer. He is also the Founder and Executive Secretary of the Research Institute for Development, Growth and Economics (RIDGE), Associate Professor at the Barcelona School of Economics (BSE), and a Fellow of CESifo. His research lies at the intersection of macroeconomics, growth theory, and firm dynamics, with a strong focus on embodied technical change, innovation, the demographic transition and welfare-based measurement of economic growth. His work has been published in leading journals such as the Economic Journal, Journal of Economic Theory, and Journal of Economic Growth, among many others, and has contributed to shaping the literature on vintage capital, endogenous growth, demographic transition, and international trade with heterogeneous firms. He has recently expanded his research agenda to welfare-based approaches to GDP measurement. He has supervised over thirty doctoral theses, many of which have led to academic and policy careers at institutions such as the European Central Bank, IMF, OECD, and major universities across Europe and North America. Beyond research and supervision, he has been deeply engaged in fostering international academic collaboration through his leadership roles in the IEA and RIDGE, as well as through numerous initiatives promoting dialogue between academia and policy institutions worldwide.

Luiz de Mello is Director of the Country Studies Branch at the Economics Department of the OECD. Together with the country studies teams, Mr. de Mello provides leadership and strategic direction within the Economics Department, ensuring the design and implementation of analysis and policies which promote stronger, cleaner, fairer and more inclusive economic growth for member and partner countries. Structural policy surveillance, short and long term economic outlooks, public finance and macroeconomic policy analysis are among the key workstreams for policy studies. Earlier in his career, Mr. de Mello held senior positions at the OECD, including Deputy-Director of the Public Governance Directorate and Chief of Staff and Counsellor to the Chief Economist. Prior to joining the OECD, he worked as a Senior Economist at the Fiscal Affairs Department of the International Monetary Fund, and as a Lecturer at the Economics Department of the University of Kent, United Kingdom. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Kent, United Kingdom.

Antonio Spilimbergo is Deputy Director of the Research Department at the IMF. He received his undergraduate diploma from Bocconi and his PhD from MIT. Since 1997 he has worked at the IMF where he has been mission chief for Brazil, Italy, Slovenia, Russia, and Turkey. He is a research fellow of CEPR, William Davidson Institute, and CreAm. He is a member of the Research Advisory Board of the Central Bank of Russia. His areas of interest are: international trade, development, labor economics, political economy, and macroeconomics. His papers are published in leading academic journals, including American Economic Review, Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economics and Statistics, American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, and Journal of International Economics. He co-edited the books “Getting Back on Track: Growth, Employment, and Rebalancing in Europe”, “Brazil: Boom, Bust, and the Road to Recovery” and “Sì Vax. Dialogo tra un pragmatico e un non so”.