Laura Garcia-Montoya

Laura Garcia-Montoya is an Assistant Professor at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy at the University of Toronto, with a concurrent adjunct appointment in Economics at the Universidad del Rosario in Bogotá, Colombia. She previously held roles as an Assistant Professor at the Universidad del Rosario, a Visiting Fellow at the Kellogg Institute (University of Notre Dame), and a Postdoctoral Researcher at Princeton University’s Mamdouha S. Bobst Center. Her academic journey includes a PhD and M.S. in Statistics from Northwestern University, alongside MA and B.A. degrees in Economics from the University of Los Andes.

Her research focuses on the political economy of inequality and development in Latin America, particularly examining links between inequality, violence, and redistribution policies. Key methodological interests include causal inference and measurement frameworks. Current work centers on her book manuscript, *Escaping Inequality Traps: State Formation, Elites, and the Myth of Progress*, analyzing why some Latin American countries reduce inequality while others remain trapped in high levels.

Dr. Garcia-Montoya’s research has been supported by grants from SSHRC, the Kellogg Institute, the Mamdouha S. Bobst Center, and others. Her publications appear in journals like the American Political Science Review, PNAS, and Sociological Methods and Research.