Economics Program

"I started working at the Bank of Mexico in 2007 as an analyst. My main tasks were to generate statistical information and to support the preparation of institutional presentations. After graduating from Barcelona GSE in 2011, I returned to the Central Bank as an economist, and thanks to knowledge I acquired during the master, especially in macroeconomics and banking, my responsibilities have changed. Now, I carry out both applied research and economic analysis. In the area of economic research, I worked on the construction of a Financial Conditions Index for Mexico, and now I am working on a study to find out the relevance of the Banking transmission channel for the Mexican monetary policy. In the area of economic analysis, I am elaborating the weekly analysis of the Central Bank´s balance sheet public report, and I am conducting the analysis of monetary aggregates and financial indicators for the Monetary Policy Committee’s report."

"I'm a research fellow on the team for Economic Evaluation and Health Technology Assessment. Among my projects are a study of health care funding allocation and an analysis of the well-being of informal caregivers. I am definitely very happy to have done the Master in Economics because it gave me all the quantitative skills CHE was looking for. In particular I am using a wide range of analytical and quantitative tools I studied in microeconometrics, health economics, and labor economics." Eye on Alumni Feature

After completing the GSE master program, Rebecca Springford has returned to work at the UK Government Service, where she is currently an assistant economist in the Department for Work and Pensions. The training she obtained during the master program has given her new confidence in producing economic analysis and briefings on policy proposals for ministers and senior officials. Eye on Alumni Feature

Natasa Jemec '09
Analyst, Analysis and Research Department

Bank of Slovenia

Two recent research projects: Estimating output gap for Slovenia using production function approach and Analysis of inflation perceptions. Writing articles for publications Economic Indicators of International Economy (GDP, inflation, interest rates figures...), Monthly Bulletins and Price Stability Reports. Covering fields of International Economy (GDP, inflation, interest rates figures...), Competitiveness of Slovenian economy (describing the movement of real and nominal effective exchange rate) and Real sector (description of development of GDP components).

"My job consists of academic research, policy memos for the Federal Reserve governors, and peer review of other economists' work for conferences or journals. Most of my research revolves around finance and credit risk. Right now I have projects regarding the variance risk premium, granularity of loan portfolios and contagion in financial markets." Eye on Alumni Feature

"The French government has several Regional Economic Services in developing countries to promote cooperation and provide a link with the French chairs in multilateral organizations such as the IADB or the IMF. My office is based in Panama and I am in charge of Panama, the Andean and Caribbean countries. My everyday job consists of analyzing the macroeconomic situation of these countries and addressing some more structural issues. For instance, I have been working on the impact of the international economic crisis on the region: through which channels are countries affected? To what extent are they affected? Which measures did they implement to mitigate the impact of the crisis? In order to prepare those reports for the French government, I have to travel regularly to these countries. During those missions, I meet with Ministers, Central Bank governors, economists, and multilateral organizations’ representatives to assess the situation of each country."

"For the past year I've worked as a research assistant for Emily Oster at the Becker Center at the University of Chicago. It's been a tremendous experience. We've been researching the effect of peer networks on technology adoption and education in India. Next year I will be entering the doctoral program in Applied Economics at the University of Pennsylvania in the Wharton School. I plan to focus on labor, urban, development, and economic history."

"My research focuses on banking regulation in the United States and Germany between 1930 and 1960. Just recently I read a newspaper accounts stemming from the aftermath of the German financial crisis of 1931. If I hadn’t known that it was a piece from that time, I would certainly have thought that it was an article from today's times. Much the same issues they were discussing back then, such as banker's bonuses, excessive risk-taking, a lack of business-ethics, etc., are being discussed today as well. History doesn't repeat, but it does rhyme indeed..." read full interview