Laura Alfaro Joins IDB as New Chief Economist and Economic Counselor

WASHINGTON – The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has appointed Laura Alfaro as Chief Economist and Economic Counselor following a competitive selection process. Ms. Alfaro brings to the Bank extensive economic research and public policy expertise in Latin America and the Caribbean. 

The appointment strengthens the IDB’s Research Department as a leading voice on the region’s most pressing challenges – including productivity and competitiveness, private-sector-led growth, technology and AI, public-sector efficiency and fiscal sustainability, financial inclusion and innovations, resilience, and energy supply, poverty, and inequality, among others. The department will contribute to implement the IDBImpact+ vision, embedding economic analysis more directly into operations, policy, and strategy. The renewed agenda also prioritizes high-quality research as a public good to support better decision-making by governments, businesses, and development partners. 

“We are very happy with Laura’s appointment which coincides with the implementation phase of IDBImpact+, a new chapter for our research department at the IDB group,” said IDB President Ilan Goldfajn. “Research and knowledge are at the center of our strategy – that strives to shape the public debate and embed the research with our operations to concretely serve the region in our joint priorities.” 

“It is an honor and a great joy to join the Inter-American Development Bank as Chief Economist and Economic Counselor. Knowledge only makes sense when it becomes impact. Today, more than ever, our region needs bold ideas, rigorous analysis, and genuine collaboration to turn data into decisions that improve lives. I look forward to working alongside an extraordinary team to contribute to that purpose at this turning point for our region,” said Alfaro. 

Ms. Alfaro joined the Bank on June 1, 2025. She was previously the Warren Alpert Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and served as Minister of National Planning and Economic Policy in Costa Rica from 2010 to 2012. Her main research interests include international economics, capital flows, foreign direct investment, sovereign debt, and trade. She is Co-Editor of the Journal of International Economics and the World Bank Research Observer, Vice-President of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association (LACEA), and Faculty Research Associate at the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) and the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). 

A dual citizen of the United States and Costa Rica, she holds a doctorate in economics from UCLA, and degrees from the Universidad de Costa Rica and the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.  

Ms. Alfaro succeeds Eric Parrado, who was appointed IDB Invest’s Managing Director for Central America, Mexico, Panama, Dominican Republic, and Haiti.