Belén Acosta Vera

Research Assistant

: mabelenacosta@uchicago.edu

Belén is a Master of Public Policy candidate at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Instituto Desarrollo in Asunción, Paraguay, and completed the MITx MicroMasters in Data, Economics, and Design of Policy. Before joining CEHD, she interned with the World Bank’s Development Impact Group and worked as a consultant for the Inter-American Development Bank, where she led the design of Paraguay’s first national statistical atlas on disability rights. Her current research interests include development economics, fiscal policy, and educational inequality in Latin America, with a particular interest in how language shapes educational opportunity in Paraguay.

In her free time, Belén enjoys live music, cooking and baking, and trying out new coffee shops.