Andrés Castaño Zuluaga

Prof. Andrés Castano is an Assistant Teaching Professor in Economics and Analytics at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar. He is an economist by training specializing in the Economics of Consumer Demand, Regional and Agricultural Economics, Labor Economics, and Applied Econometrics, with more than six years of experience working as a Research Assistant, Research Economist, and Economic Consultant in higher education, agriculture, finance, and policy-focused institutions such as IFC and the Central Bank of Colombia. In these roles, he has been responsible for conducting economic research, leading data preparation, performing data analysis and project evaluations using ex-ante (Input-Output modeling and Cost-Benefit Analysis) and ex-post impact evaluation techniques (experimental and quasi-experimental methods) and providing policy recommendations. He has exposure to education and policy-oriented institutions working with the public and private sectors. He has worked as an Economic Consultant for the Market Opportunities Group at IFC in determining the local economic impacts of investments in Colombia's meat cold chain management. He has also performed research into the chocolate supply chain as part of his PhD dissertation. Combining quantitative and qualitative methods, he advised the Colombian government about the progress and challenges of Colombia's meat cold chain management and provided guidance on the best ways to allocate ~$7M from public-private partnerships to promote meat exports and economic growth in exporting regions.