Luisa Blanco

Luisa Blanco is an economist specializing in economic development and international economics, with a focus on the Latin American region. Dr. Blanco research interests pertain to the wellbeing of Latin Americans at home and abroad. At Pepperdine's School of Public Policy, Blanco teaches the core course on Macroeconomic Policy and other courses related to the economics specialization, such as Global Economics and Latin American Economic Development. Blanco also leads community-based participatory research projects focused on improving financial wellbeing and health outcomes. She leverages digital communications technology and tools to improve access to information and promote behavioral change.

Blanco's research specific to the Latin American region focuses on issues related to economic development and policy-making, such as institutions, democracy, political instability, crime, capital accumulation, capital flows, financial development, inequality, and natural resources. Blanco's work has been published in journals such as the World Development, Journal of Development Studies, Oxford Development Studies, Southern Economic Journal, Resources Policy, Energy Economics, Latin American Research Review, among others.

She is currently a co-Director of the Analysis Core of the Center for Health Improvement for Minority Elders at UCLA, NBER Research Affiliate, J-PAL invited Researcher, and IHS fellow. In 2026, she became a Visiting Fellow for Latin America at the Wilson Center. In 2025, she was invited as a Research Fellow and member of the Research Advisory Council at the Julian Bond Institute for Financial Equity Research. She was a fellow of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Interdisciplinary Research Leadership program, and a visiting scholar of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Opportunity and Inclusive Growth Institute, Adjunct Researcher at RAND Corporation, and a Research Fellow at Harris Manchester College at Oxford. She also worked as consultant for the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank. She served as a President of the American Society of Hispanic Economists (ASHE) and founded the ASHE’s mentoring program for midcareer minority economists. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Oklahoma.