Claudia Allende Santa Cruz

Claudia Allende Santa Cruz is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Stanford Graduate School of Business and a Center Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). She holds the Charles and Melissa Froland Faculty Scholar title for 2024–2025 and has served as an Assistant Professor at Stanford since 2021. Her work focuses on applied microeconomics, particularly the interplay between public and private sectors in markets with subsidies and regulation. She emphasizes field-based research, collaborating with governments and NGOs to design interventions using administrative data, surveys, and randomized trials.

Education:

• PhD in Economics and Education, Columbia University (2020)
• MA in Economics, Universidad Católica de Chile (2012)
• BA in Business and Economics, Universidad Católica de Chile (2011)

Research Interests: Claudia studies industrial organization, education economics, market design, and development economics, with a focus on policy impacts in sectors like education and healthcare. Her recent projects include analyzing pharmaceutical procurement prices and designing school-choice apps in Chile to aid parental decision-making.

Awards:

• John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn Faculty Scholar (2023–24)
• Kevin J. O’Donohue Family Faculty Scholar (2022–23)
• Design Fellowship, Stanford Impact Labs (2021)
• Rising Star Prize, International Industrial Organization Conference (2020)

Teaching & Engagement: She teaches courses on data analysis and research practicums. Her work often involves global field research in Chile, Peru, the Dominican Republic, and Colombia, blending theory with on-the-ground insights. She emphasizes the human dimension of economics, particularly addressing inequalities through policy design.

Labs & Teams: Collaborates with Stanford Impact Labs and SIEPR on projects like the school-choice app in Chile, merging technology with public policy to enhance decision transparency.