Alejandro Gaviria Uribe
Alejandro Gaviria Uribe took office as the new Minister of Health and Social Protection before the President of the Republic, Juan Manuel Santos Calderon, on September 3, 2012.
 
Throughout his career, Gaviria has served, among others, as deputy director of National Planning, Deputy Director and Research Associate of Fedesarrollo (center for economic and social research), and researcher in Washington for the Inter-American Development Bank.
 
The new Minister holds a PhD in Economics from the University of California (USA) and MA in Economics from the Universidad de Los Andes. When he accepted his appointment as Minister of Health and Social Protection, Gaviria was serving as Dean of the School of Economics at the Universidad de Los Andes.
 
Education
- PhD in Economics, University of California, San Diego (1998)
- MA in Economics, Universidad de los Andes, Bogota (1993)
- Civil Engineer, School of Engineering of Antioquia, Medellin (1987)

Experience
- Dean of the Universidad de Los Andes, School of Economics, Bogota (2006)
- Associate Professor at the Universidad de Los Andes, School of Economics (2004 - 2006)
- Deputy Director of the National Planning Department (2002 - 2004)
- Deputy Director of Fedesarrollo (2001 - 2002)
- Research Associate of Fedesarrollo (2000-2001)
- Researcher for the Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department, Washington DC (1998-2000)
- Head of Division, National Planning Department, Bogotá (1993-1994)
- Junior Researcher of the National Federation of Coffee Growers, Bogotá (1992-1993)
- Civil Engineer of Suramericana Insurance Company, Medellin (1987-89)
 
Other activities
- Columnist, El Espectador newspaper
- Member of the Board of Directors of Bancolombia and ISAGEN
- Member of the editorial board of El Espectador
- Panelist for Hora20
 
Academic and Professional Honors
- Portfolio Award for Best Teacher 2010
  Granted annually to the best economics professor in Colombia
- Simon Bolivar Award for Journalism 2009
   Awarded annually for the best op-ed article in Colombia
- Juan Luis Londoño Medal of Honor 2005
   Delivered bi-annually to the most prominent Colombian economist under age 40.
- Alfred P. Sloan Grant 1997-1998
  New Jersey, United States
- Lauchin Currie Scholarship 1994-1998
- Banco de la Republica, Bogota, Colombia.
- School of Economics Scholarship
  Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia 1990-1991
 
Papers published
1992:
- Consumption in Colombia: A Review of the Empirical Evidence (with Carlos E. Posada) Coyuntura Económica, Vol. XXII, No. 4, (in Spanish).
- Real Exchange Rate Determinants and the Current Debate in Colombia (with Juan José Echavarría) Coyuntura Económica, Vol. XXII, No. 4 (in Spanish).
 
1993:
- Private Saving and Terms of Trade: The Case of Colombia, Ensayos sobre Política Económica, No. 23, (in Spanish).
- Structural Shifts and Economic Growth in Colombia: 1920-91 (with Juan José Echavarría) Lecturas de Macroeconomía Colombiana (Roberto Steiner, editor), Fedesarrollo, Bogota (in Spanish).
- “Foreign Direct Investment and Economic Growth,” Planeación y Desarrollo, Vol. XXV, No. 1, National Department of Planning, March (in Spanish).
 
1998:
- “Three Essays in Intergenerational Mobility and Social Interactions,” Ph.D Dissertation, University of California, San Diego.
 
1999:
- “Political Institutions, Accountability and Government Performance,” Chapter 4 in Development beyond Economics: Economic and Social Progress in Latin America, Inter-American Development Bank and Johns Hopkins University, Washington DC.
 
2000:
-Increasing Returns and the Evolution of Violent Crime: The Case of Colombia, Journal of Development Economics, Vol. 65.
- Is Soccer Dying? A Time Series Approach, Applied Economic Letters, Vol. 7, No. 4.
- “Are technological Innovations Contagious? Evidence from Sport Records, Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Vol. 9.
- Crime and Victimization: An Economic Perspective: Comments, Journal of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association, Vol. 1, No 1.
- Who suffered the Most from the Crisis? Coyuntura Social, No. 23, November (in Spanish).
- Teenage Pregnancy in Colombia, Coyuntura Social, No. 23, November (in Spanish).
 
2001:
- School-Based Peer Effects and Juvenile Behavior, (with Steven Raphael) Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. LXXXIII, No. 2, 2001.
- Sibling Correlations and Social Mobility in Latin America, (with Momi Dahan) Economic Development and Cultural Change, Vol. 49, No. 3.
- Intergenerational Mobility In Latin America, (with Jere Berhman and Miguel Szekely) Economía, Journal of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association, Vol. 2, No. 1.
- Household Strategies and Unemployment Evolution (with Marta Henao), Coyuntura Social, No. 24 (in Spanish).
- Quality of Education and Student Performance In Bogota (with Jorge Barrientos), Coyuntura Social, No. 24 (in Spanish).
- School Characteristics and Quality of Education in Bogota, (with Jorge Barrientos), Coyuntura Social, No. 25, (in Spanish).
- Who Bears the Burden of Crime and Violence in Colombia? (with Carlos Velez), Coyuntura Económica, Vol. XXXI, No. 2, (in Spanish).
- Endogenous Institutions: The Importance of History, Lecturas de Economía, No. 54.
- History Dependence in the Economy: A Review of the Literature, Revista de Economía del Rosario, Vol. 4, No. 1.
 
2002:
- Intergenerational mobility, sibling inequality and borrowing constraints, Economics of Education Review, Vol. 21.
- Patterns of Crime Victimization in Latin American Cities (with Carmen Pages), Journal of Development Economics, Vol. 67.
- Assessing the Effects of Corruption and Crime on Firm Performance: Evidence from Latin America, Emerging Markets Review, Vol. 3, No. 3.
- Household Responses to Adverse Income Shocks in Latin America, Desarrollo y Sociedad, No. 49.
- Wage Patterns of Public Teachers in Colombia (with Claudia Marcela Umaña), Coyuntura Social, No. 23, (in Spanish).
- Evaluating the Impact of Sena on Earnings and Employment (with Jairo Nuñez), Planeación y Desarrollo, Vol. XXXIII, No. 3 y 4, National Department of Planning (in Spanish).
 
2003:
- Social Exclusion In Latin America: Perceptions, Reality and Implications (with Jere Behrman and Miguel Székely) in “Who’s in and who’s out: Social Exclusion in Latin America”, John Hopkins University Press, Washington, DC.
- Particularism around the World: A New Development Database (with Jessica Seddon, Ugo Panizza and Ernesto Stein), The World Bank Economic Review, Vol. 17, No. 1.
 Parental Actions and Sibling Inequality (with Momi Dahan), Journal of Development Economics, Vol. 69.
- Political Institutions and Growth Collapses, (with Jessica Seddon, Ugo Panizza and Ernesto Stein), Latin American Journal of Economic Development, Vol. 1, No. 2.
 
2004:
 Visa Usa: Fortunes and Misfortunes of Colombian Inmigrants in The United States, Colombia Internacional, No. 59, (in Spanish).
- On the Colombian Budget Reform, Debates de Coyuntura Económica, No. 55, Fedesarrollo (in Spanish).
- Economic, Social and Demographic Determinants of Political Participation in Latin America: Evidence from the 1990s (with Ugo Panizza y Jessica Seddon), Revista Latinoamericana de Desarrollo Económico, No. 3.
 
2005:
- Colombian labor reform: did it work?, Coyuntura Económica, Vol. XXXV, No. 1, (in Spanish).
- Social Effects of a Free Trade Agreement with The United States, Planeación y Desarrollo, National Department of Planning, Vol. XXX (in Spanish).
 
2006:
- Evolution of the Colombian Labor Market and Policy Alternatives (with María del Mar Palau), Coyuntura Social, No. 34.
- Nutrition and Infant Health in Colombia (with María del Mar Palau), Coyuntura Económica, Vol XXXVI., No. 2. (in Spanish).
- Assessing Health Reform in Colombia: from Theory to Practice (with Carlos Medina y Carolina Mejia), Economía, Journal of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association, Vol. 7, No. 1.
- The Other Face of the Diaspora: Exploring the Connections of Colombian Emigrants with their Native Country, (with Carolina Mejia), Coyuntura Social, No. 35 (in Spanish).
 
2007:
- Social Mobility and Preferences for Redistribution in Latin America, Economía, Journal of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association, Vol. 8, No. 1.
 
2008:
- Determinants of Teacher’s Evaluations: The Case of the Universidad de Los Andes” (with Alejandro Hoyos), Desarrollo y Sociedad, No. 61 (in Spanish).
 
2010:
- The Cost of Avoiding Crime, (with Carlos Medina, Leonardo Morales and Jairo Nuñez), in Rafael Di Tella, Sebastian Edwards & Ernesto Schargrodsky, 2010. “The Economics of Crime: Lessons for and from Latin America,” NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic
- Las Consecuencias Económicas De Un Nombre Atípico, Trimestre Económico, vol. LXXVII (3), núm. 307, julio-septiembre,
- Discrimination in the Provision of Social Services to the Poor: A field Experiment Study (with Juan C. Cárdenas, Rajiv Sethi, Natalia candela y Sandra Polania) in Hugo Ñopo, aleberto Chong & Andrea Moro, 2010.”Discrimination in Latin America,” Inter-American Development Bank & the World Bank.
 
2011:
- Drug Consumption in Colombia. (with Adriana Camacho and Catherine Rodriguez) in “Antidrugs Policy in Colombia: successes, failures and follies”, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, 2011. (In Spanish)
 
Books written and edited
- “Violence in Latin America,” Juan Luis Londoño, Alejandro Gaviria and Rodrigo Guerrero (editors), Inter-American Development Bank, Washington, DC., 2000 (in Spanish).
- “Oil and Region: The Case of Casanare,” (with Juan Gonzalo Zapata y Adriana González), Fedesarrollo, No. 8, Bogota, Colombia, 2002 (in Spanish).
- “Education and Social Mobility In Colombia,” Editorial Alfa y Omega, Bogota, Colombia, 2002 (in Spanish).
- “Who’s In And Who’s Out: Social Exclusion In Latin America,” Jere R. Behrman, Alejandro Gaviria, Miguel Székely (editors), John Hopkins University Press, Washington, DC. 2003.
-”Is geography destiny? Lessons from Latin America,” (with John Gallup y Eduardo Lora), Stanford University Press and the World Bank, Washington, DC. 2003.
- “From Romanticism to Realism in Social Policy and Other Essays,” Editorial Norma, Bogotá, Colombia, 2005 (in Spanish).
- “Uribenomics and Other Paradoxes,” Editorial Norma, Bogotá, Colombia, 2007 (in Spanish).
- “Política Antidroga en Colombia, éxitos, fracasos y extravíos”, Alejandro Gaviria and Daniel Mejia (compiladores), Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, 2011