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Published 8 August 2014

Faces – Young Scientist Profile: Valeria Rueda

Meet Valeria Rueda, participant of #LindauEcon14.

In Faces we portray the young scientists of the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings and give them an open forum to talk about their research and everything else that is important to them. Everybody should feel encouraged to also share their own thoughts and stories.

faces_rueda_profile

 

On her research interests:

“My research analyzes the long-term roots of subnational development in sub-Saharan Africa. I analyze how historical processes leading to specific dynamics of political and social behaviors can affect long-term development.  As an example, my first project showed how in sub-Saharan Africa (mainly in former British colonies), regions close to where the first printing presses were imported exhibit today higher media consumption and political participation at the local level.”

 

On the challenges of an economist’s life:

“I was lucky to have support from my family and professors to conduct long studies. Of course, it is not always easy, especially since economics is still a very largely male-dominated world and academia is also incredibly competitive. For the moment, I just carry on; I really enjoy doing research and teaching.”

 

On her expectations on the Lindau Meeting on Economic Sciences:

“I am eager to meet and listen to all the inspiring professors invited. Similarly, I am also very much looking forward to meet the young economists. It is always very exciting to meet people who are curious and interested in questions of the field.”

 

Valeria is active on social media and has started her own YouTube-Channel trying to explain the basic concepts of economics to a broader audience. In response to the two films recently released by the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings she had to say this:

What makes a good economist? (Watch!)

“I’m not sure I have the experience to answer this question with certainty. From my short experience, the economists I admire the most are extremely creative and have the capacity to look at social and historical realities through the perspective of simple economic arbitrages. Doing so requires creativity, thinking out of the box, precision, logic and a very strong intuition of the data, which I feel are important qualities for an economist.”

 

What are the challenges for the next generation? (Watch!)

“There are many challenges, all of them different depending on the regions of the world we think of. In each field the challenges faced are also different. Regarding developing countries, an important question is how to think of economic development in a way that is aware of modern issues regarding climate change. This will involve the way we think of education, understanding the behaviours of individuals, who are in constant interaction with the environment and of course taking seriously into account environmental costs of developing policies.”

 

To join the debates and reach out to other participants use the Twitter Hashtag: #LindauEcon14.