Position/Role

Professor of Economics (with tenure) in the Department of International Economics at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies of Geneva (Switzerland)

Professional career

After graduating with a bachelor degree in Economics in the Faculty of Economics at University of Turin in 2002, Professor Viarengo completed her education through a Master in Economics at Northwestern University (USA) in 2003 and a PhD at the London School of Economics and Political Science (UK) in 2007.  After completing her doctoral studies, she was Postdoctoral Fellow at the Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government (USA). She subsequently worked as an economist at the Centre for Economic Performance of the London School of Economics prior to join the Graduate Institute’s faculty. She is currently Professor (with tenure) in the Department of International Economics at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies of Geneva (CH). She is Faculty Associate at the Harvard University, Center for International Development, and a Member of the Swiss National Center of Competence in Research (NCCR). She is also Senior Research Associate at the Harvard Law School, Labor and Worklife Program. She currently serves as Senior Expert in the European Expert Network on the Economics of Education (EENEE) of the European Commission and as Member of the Evaluation Committee of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) Economic Cooperation and Development.

Scientific results

Professor Viarengo is a specialist in public policy, labor economics and economic development. Her research has focused on the economics of public services, education systems and labor markets in an international perspective. Her research has also examined different aspects related to management and human capital within organizations in countries at different stages of development.

Her research has been published in leading international journals.

She is a fellow of the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), a member of the European Development Network (EUDN), and a fellow of the Center for Economic Studies (CESifo).

Editorial work and publications

Selected Publication

Books

[2015] Viarengo M. (joint with Kramarz F.), “Neither in Employment nor in Education – Youth Left Behind,”  Paris: Sciences-Po Press   (title in French: Ni en Emploi Ni en Formation - Des Jeunes Laissés pour Compte”)

Publications in Refereed Journals

[2020] Viarengo M. (joint with Ganguli I., R. Hausmann) “Gender Differences in Professional Career Dynamics: New Evidence from a Global Law Firm,” forthcoming in Economica.

[2019] Viarengo M. (joint with Bandiera O., M. Mohnen, I. Rasul), “Nation-Building through Compulsory Schooling during the Age of Mass Migration,” [LSE-Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines - Economic Organisation and Public Policy Discussion Paper No. 057], Economic Journal, Vol. 129, No. 617(1), pp. 62–109.

[2018] Viarengo M. (joint with Machin S., S. McNally), “Changing How Literacy is Taught: Evidence on Synthetic Phonics,” [LSE-Centre for Economic Performance Discussion Paper No. 1425; IZA Discussion Paper No. 9955], American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 217-241.

[2018] Viarengo M. (joint with Ganguli I., R. Hausmann), “Career Dynamics and Gender Gaps among Employees in the Microfinance Sector,” UNU-WIDER Working Paper No. 2017/117, chapter published in Anderson S., L. Beaman and J.P. Platteau (eds.), “Towards Gender Equity in Development” published by Oxford University Press. 

[2017] Viarengo M. (joint with Gibbons S., S. McNally), “Does Additional Spending Help Urban Schools? An Evaluation Using Boundary Discontinuities,” [earlier versions of this paper: LSE-Centre for the Economics of Education Discussion Paper No. 128; IZA Discussion Paper No. 6281], Journal of the European Economic Association, November Vol. 16, No. 5(1), pp. 1618–1668.

[2015] Viarengo M. (joint with Pritchett L.), “Does Public Sector Control Reduce Variance in School Quality?” Education Economics, Vol. 23, No. 5, October, pp. 557-576; [Harvard University, Center for Global Development Working Paper No. 178; Harvard University, PEPG Discussion Paper No. 09-03].

[2015] Viarengo M. (joint with Pritchett L.), “The State, Socialization and Private Schooling: When Will Governments Support Alternative Producers?” Journal of Development Studies, (lead article), Vol. 51, No. 7, July, pp. 784-807; [Harvard University, Center for International Development Working Paper No. 272].

[2014] Viarengo M. (joint with Martinez-Fritscher A., A. Musacchio), “Colonial Institutions, Trade Shocks, and the Diffusion of Elementary Education in Brazil, 1889-1930,” Journal of Economic History, Vol. 74, No. 3, pp. 730-766; [NBER Working Paper No. 20029; Harvard Business School Working Paper No. 10-075].

[2014] Viarengo M. (joint with Freeman R.B.), “School and Family Effects on Educational Outcomes across Countries,” Economic Policy, (lead article), Vol. 79, No. 29, July, pp. 395-446.

[2014] Viarengo M. (joint with Ganguli I., R. Hausmann), “Closing the Gender Gap in Education: What is the State of Gaps in Labor Force Participation for Women, Wives and Mothers?” International Labour Review, (lead article), Vol. 153, No. 2, pp. 173-208; [Harvard University, Center for International Development Working Paper No. 220]. 

[2013] Viarengo M. (joint with Bandiera O., I. Rasul), “The Making of Modern America: Migratory Flows in the Age of Mass Migration,” Journal of Development Economics, Vol. 102, May, pp. 23-47; [CEPR Discussion Paper No. 7509].

[2012] Viarengo M. (joint with Pritchett L.), “Why Demographic Suicide? The Puzzles of European Fertility,” Population and Development Review, No. 38, pp. 55-71.

[2010] Viarengo M. (Holmlund H., S. McNally), “Does Money Matter for Schools?” Economics of Education Review, Vol. 29, pp. 1154-1164; [IZA Discussion Paper No. 3769; CEE Discussion Paper No. 105].

Awards and prizes

Professor Viarengo is the recipient of numerous research grants, fellowships and awards. 

She was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and she was named Newton International Fellow by the British Academy, Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering. In 2013 she was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. In 2018 Dr. Viarengo was awarded with the Eisenhower Fellowship.