If you had asked my younger self what I wanted to be, I would have confidently answered: a historian. Despite my natural talent for math, I was captivated by the study of history and understanding how our past shaped who we have become. Asking for advice from my high school history teacher on a career as a historian, he told me: "Álvaro, you don't know it yet, but you are an economist." I respected his opinion so much that I decided to pursue both. It turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life.

Economics was love at first sight. It perfectly blended my passion for social sciences and mathematics and my desire to make a real impact on the world. I quickly desisted on my history aspirations and fully embraced economics. But my journey was far from smooth.  I struggled in my early university years. I barely passed my courses, constantly questioning whether I had what it takes. That changed when I took Intermediate Microeconomics—one of the courses I now teach at Dal. I focused like never before, studying for that course more than 20 hours per week. I ended up earning the highest mark in my cohort. My professor took notice and invited me to be her Teaching Assistant. This position would be the first of more than 30 TA positions I held; TAing ultimately became my primary means of supporting myself through my undergraduate and graduate years.

At first, I was a terrible TA. I stuttered, my handwriting was unreadable, and my explanations lacked clarity. But I was determined to improve. I took drama and voice lessons, practiced writing on the board, and carefully thought through how to communicate complex ideas in the clearest way possible. Over time, the effort paid off. I became an effective teacher, eventually earning several teaching awards—recognition I never imagined when I first stepped in front of a classroom.

Beyond the classroom, I always felt a strong responsibility to contribute to society. During my undergraduate years, I became deeply involved in politics, driven by a simple but troubling observation: I was studying at the best university in the country—Chile, where I am originally from—yet 85% of students came from the same 10 very-posh high schools, while the rest of the students came from relatively wealthy schools scattered from across the country. Something about the university selection system was deeply unfair, and I wanted to understand why.

This question became my first research project. Alongside a team of peers, we analyzed Chile's standardized university entrance exam. We found that scores were almost perfectly correlated with parental income—in other words, the system wasn't selecting for talent but rather for how much money families could invest in test preparation. The question then became: If talent is distributed uniformly in society, can we design a better, more meritocratic system using existing standardized tests and information?

With the surprising support from another university, we conducted a small experiment testing our ideas, giving admission to forty students that our tools predicted would excel but were left out following the traditional admission system. The results were undeniable—talent existed, and we could identify it. The experiment grew in size and expanded to other universities, and the results and evidence became stronger. Eventually, our ideas reformed the entire university selection system. Today, the new system is widely regarded as fairer and more effective at identifying talent.

This experience transformed my outlook. I had originally entered politics to drive change, but this project showed me something even more powerful—economic research could shape policy and improve lives in ways I hadn't imagined. It was then that I made a pivotal decision: I did not want to be a politician. I wanted to be a researcher. However, getting admitted to a top Ph.D. program from Chile was challenging. I knew I needed strong letters of recommendation and good math preparation. Two things that were unavailable at that time back home. So, I applied for an exchange program at UCLA, where I studied for two terms, focusing on mathematics and taking Ph.D.-level microeconomics. I studied (and partied) harder than ever, determined to prove myself, and my efforts paid off—I obtained strong recommendation letters and applied to graduate programs. I was accepted to the university of my dreams: Northwestern University, home to one of the world's strongest Theory and Industrial Organization groups—my areas of specialization. There, I had the privilege to work under the supervision of Michael Whinston (now at MIT), one of the leading IO theorists in the world.

My research is primarily theoretical but always driven by empirical work. I develop theoretical tools that assist empirical researchers in understanding complex economic phenomena. I am best known for my work in innovation economics and its relationship to competition policy. My first academic position was at UBC, where I worked in the Strategy and Business Economics group at the Sauder School of Business. There, I taught Business Strategy, working closely with students and researchers in both the economics department and the business school.

Now, I am thrilled to be starting a new chapter at Dal and in Halifax. I hope to be a big contributor to the research culture of the economics department and Dal, spreading my passion for economic analysis among students, sharing my experience and being a good mentor to graduate students, and being a collegial peer to my fellow faculty.