PhD in Economics, Princeton University. Minister of Strategic Affairs. President, Institute for Applied Economic Research (IPEA). Founder, Center for Social Policies, and teacher, undergraduate and graduate programmes, School of Economics, Getúlio Vargas Foundation. Main areas of research: social policies; education. Author: Microcredit: the Mystery of the Northeast and the Brazilian Grameen; Social Security Coverage: Diagnosis and Proposals; Social Essays; Diversity; Inflation and Consumption; The New Middle Class. Editor, Bolsa Família, with Tereza Campello, Minister of Social Development.