Achieved a PhD in Economics from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, with a sandwich doctorate at the École des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales de Paris, DELTA/EHESS. Full professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS). President of the Economics and Statistics Foundation (FEE), 2007-2010. Director of the National Association of Planning, Research and Statistics Institutions (ANIPES), 2007-2010. Director of the Faculty of Administration, Accounting and Economics (PUCRS), 2012-2014. He has several articles published in journals in the area of economics and has experience in economic research in the areas of economic growth, regional and urban economy, agribusiness and evaluation of public policies.