Dr Esperanza Vera-Toscano

Esperanza Vera-Toscano is a Senior Research Fellow at the Melbourne Institute since February 2019. She holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Aberdeen (UK) and is currently on a leave of absence as Senior Scientist for the National Research Council in Spain (CSIC). Dr. Vera-Toscano has over two decades of expertise in the study of the determinants of disadvantage, social exclusion and individuals’ wellbeing, with a particular focus on gender and regional differences, and the role of education and skills. She has worked for well-known universities and government agencies, including the University of California Davis, the Spanish National Research Council, and Statistics Canada. She has also collaborated with supranational institutions such as the World Bank and independent social organizations such as the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (UK).
Moreover, she has a well-established record of supporting evidence lead policy reforms, following her six years serving as Senior Researcher at Human Capital and Employment Unit of the Joint Research Centre, European Commission with a focus on labour economics and economics of education.