Germán Pulido

Social Research Institute, IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society

UBEL Pathway: Quantitative Social Science

Supervisor: Lorraine Dearden

Contact details: uctpgpu@ucl.ac.uk

Twitter: @GermanPulido_

About Me:

I have a BSc (Hons) in Economics and an MSc in Economics from Universidad del Rosario in Colombia. My professional experience includes roles in academia, the public sector, and collaborations with multilateral organizations such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. I am primarily focused on the intersection of economic development, poverty reduction, and education, with a specific emphasis on higher education. In 2022, I moved to London to undertake an MSc in Data Science and Public Policy at UCL, and I am thrilled to embark on my PhD journey this year.

My Research:

Higher education promotes economic growth by increasing human capital, fostering innovation, and disseminating knowledge. However, financing a comprehensive and high-quality university system is a significant financial challenge that often conflicts with other public funding priorities.

My research examines how to design optimal and equitable ways of financing higher education. Using Colombia as a case study, I leverage the experiences of the UK and Australia, to develop an Income Contingent Loan (ICL) model that simultaneously insure students against negative shocks in the labour market and increase the revenue for the Student Loan Company. Furthermore, I plan to expand upon previous methods by incorporating supervised learning methods to improve lifetime earnings simulations.

Impact of My Research:

he goal of this research is to improve upon the existing ICL models and make recommendations for the implementation of a universal income-contingent loan policy in Colombia. This includes expanding quotas for new students, transitioning current borrowers from traditional loan programs to ICL, and implementing ICL for students who have defaulted. To maximize impact on policy design, this research will develop a publicly accessible model that allows policy makers to adjust parameters such as interest rates, repayment rates, and loan length, and provides transparent information on the implications for students, graduates, taxpayers, and higher education institutions.