In this link, you can find a short version of my CV.
Education
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 2018 - 2023
- Ph.D. Candidate in Urban Economics & Policy
- Honors: Awarded the MIT Presidential (2018 - 2019) and Departmental (2019 – 2023) Fellowships.
- École Normale Supérieure (ENS) / Paris School of Economics (PSE), 2013 - 2015
- M.Sc. in Applied Economics: Public Policy and Development
- Honors: Graduated Summa Cum Laude
- Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE), 2008 - 2012
- BA in Economics
- Honors: Highest score at the national level on the mandatory economics exit examination (CENEVAL).
Professional Experience
- Economist/Data Science Intern at Redfin (May–Sep. 2022; May–Sep. 2021).
- Designed and analyzed two randomized controlled trials (A/B testing) to understand the impact of a home’s extreme weather event risk score on users’ behavior, home bidding, and decision-making. My research allowed Redfin to conduct its first academic-industry partnership.
- Conducted research with real-time housing big data on the impact of climate change on housing and migration, spatial effects of weather events on the housing market, and on the COVID-19-related eviction moratorium.
- My research was covered by Bloomberg, CNN, The Weather Channel, Forbes, NBC News, CNBC, Yale Environment 360, Fast Company, Inman, and Fox Business. In total, my research brought around +553 press mentions and improved Redfin’s SEO (approximately 13% improvement in rankings).
- My contributions helped make reporters come to Redfin first for comments on how climate events will impact housing. More than 80% of the chief economist’s interviews were about climate change at that time.
Health Economist/Data Science Visiting Fellow at OptumLabs (2019 - 2021).
- Researched the relationship between health care policies and clinical outcomes using claims data, electronic health records, and laboratory test results.
- My paper was published in JAMA, one of the country’s best medical journals, and was covered by MIT News, and NPR (I was interviewed for NPR’s Marketplace), among other outlets.
- My research helped Maryland’s General Assembly Joint Committee on Ending Homelessness draft policies to create the Emergency Rental Assistance Program.
- Director of Economic Policy at Mexico’s Treasury Department (SHCP) (2015 - 2018).
- Conducted research, drafted policies, prepared forecasts and scenarios, drafted the budget, and otherwise supported the Chief Economist to design and oversee the implementation of the Mexican fiscal consolidation process from 2015–2018, allowing Mexico’s government to achieve its first primary surplus in 9 years and reducing the debt-to-GDP ratio for the first time in 10 years. During this process, two of the world’s top rating agencies stabilized their rating perspective for Mexico’s government.
- Part of the Treasury Department’s team that successfully renegotiated the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the Mexican, US, and Canadian governments.
- Identified potential economic and financial threats to economic and financial markets, which were then discussed during the interdepartmental Financial Stability Oversight Council (CESF). Mexico’s government still uses my metrics and presentations to prepare its budget and create new policies.
- Junior Researcher at Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) - Directorate for Employment, Labor and Social Affairs ELS, Paris, France, (2014 - 2015).
- Consultant at Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), Paris, France & Monrovia, Liberia, (2014).
Publications
Sandoval-Olascoaga, S., Garcia, C., Arcaya, M. (2023). Housing Conditions in the COVID-19 Pandemic. In book: The Social Epidemiology of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Publisher: Oxford University Press. Editors: Duncan, D., Kawachi, I., Morse, S.
- Sandoval-Olascoaga, S., Metcalfe, R., Kahn, M., Fairweather, D., (2022). The Impact of Flooding Information on the Property Market: Evidence from a Nationwide Field Experiment. Redfin News.
- Covered by Bloomberg, The Weather Channel, Yale Environment 360, The Real Deal.
Sandoval-Olascoaga, S., Venkataramani A., Arcaya M. (2021). Eviction Moratoria Expiration and COVID-19 Infection Risk Across Strata of Health and Socioeconomic Status in the United States. In: JAMA Netw Open, 4(8):e2129041. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.29041. Link to the article.
Sandoval, S. (2015). The Distribution of Top Incomes in Mexico: How rich are the richest? In: MS.c. Thesis, Paris School of Economics & Ecole Normale Superieure. [Link]
- I recently updated my MS.c. thesis with additional content and analyses. [Link]
Vilar, M., Sandoval, S., Bernal, A., Shimoga, S., & Bustamante, A. (2015). The impact of the 2008 financial crisis on food security and food expenditures in Mexico: a disproportionate effect on the vulnerable. In: Public Health Nutrition, Cambridge University Press, pp. 1-9. [Link]
Vilar, M., Sandoval, S., Bernal, A., & Perez, A. (2014). Mexico: A complex mosaic of population nutrition problems. In: Pobreza y Desigualdad: un enfoque multidisciplinario, Universidad Iberoamericana, Ed. by Pablo Cotler, pp. 69-84. [Link]
Vilar, M., Sandoval, S., Bernal, A., & Perez, A. (2014). The Effect of Mexican Household Food Security Status and Income Distribution on Food Access. In: Food Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, Volume 3, Issue 2. [Link]
- While working at the Treasury Department, I was in charge of designing and writing sections of the annual report of the Stability Council of the Financial System (CESF) for years 2018, 2017, and 2016.
Teaching
- Quantitative Reasoning and Statistical Methods
- Head Teaching Assistant, (2019, 2022): The course provides an introduction to statistical theory and regression analysis - including interpretation, finite sample results, and large sample properties. The students are introduced to causal inference. Topics include: randomized trials, regression, instrumental variables and Wald estimators, differences-in-differences, regression discontinuity design, and logistic regression. Overall rating: 7.0/7.0
Academic Service
Referee for Health Affairs, Journal of Development Economics, Latin American Economic Review, ClinicoEconomics and Outcomes Research, and Habitat International.
Ph.D. Admission Committee Member for MIT’s Environmental Policy and Planning Ph.D. Track (2020, 2021, and 2022).
- Undergraduate Mentoring and Advising. Mentored, advised and established a research internship program at the Treasury Department for Undergraduate Students.
- Institutions and programs involved: National University of Mexico (UNAM), Economics; National Polytechnic Institute (IPN), Economics; El Colegio de México (COLMEX), Public Policy; and ITAM, Economics.
Awards and Honors
- MIT Presidential and Departmental Fellowships (2018 - 2023). MIT established a prestigious program of Presidential Fellowships in 1999 in order to recruit the most outstanding students worldwide to pursue graduate studies at the Institute.
Harold Horowitz Research (MIT) Fund (2022).
National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT) Fellowship (2018 - 2022).
Priscilla King Gray (MIT) Center, (2021). Summer Fellow.
Boston Area Research (Harvard and Northeastern Universities) Initiative (BARI) Research Seed Grant, (2020-2021).
Priscilla King Gray (MIT) Center, (2021). IAP Fellow.
Lloyd and Nadine Rodwin International Fellowship (2018).
- Graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Paris School of Economics (PSE)/École Normale Supérieure (ENS) (2015).
- National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT) Fellowship (2014).
- Institute of Research for Development (IRD) and Agence Française de Developpement (AFD) Fellowships (2013).
- CENEVAL award for Top National Score for Economics Graduation Exam (2012). The award is given to the highest score in Mexico on the mandatory bachelors’ graduation examination of economics. The CENEVAL-EGEL-Economics exam is a national coverage test that evaluates the level of knowledge and academic abilities of the recent graduates of the bachelor’s degree in Economics.
- Emerging Leaders in the Americas Program (ELAP) Scholarship (2011). The scholarship is given by the Canadian Government to support the development of human capital and the next generation of leaders in the Americas.
- Center for Research and Teaching of Economics (CIDE) Fellowship (2008-2012).
Community Service
- Member of MIT’s Graduate Student Council (2020 – 2022).
- Core Member MIT’s Graduate Housing Working Group Subcommittee (2020 – 2022).
- Core Member of MIT’s Graduate Student Council Advocacy Subcommittee (2020 – 2022).
- Paris School of Economics Students’ Association (SYNAPSE) Board Member (2013 - 2015).
Software
- R, Python, SQL, Stata, AWS (S3 and Redshift), Git, and QGIS.
Languages
- English, French, and Spanish.