Alicia S. Menendez is a Research Associate (Associate Professor) at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and the Department of Economics, and a Principal Research Scientist at NORC. At Harris, she also leads the International Policy Practicum, which provides real-world international policy experience to a select group of Harris students.
Menendez’s research interests include development economics, education and health, labor markets, and household behavior. She is particularly interested in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa. She is currently engaged in a project that collects and analyzes data on individuals’ health and economic status, the costs associated with illness and death, and the impact of adult deaths on households and children’s well being in a series of household surveys in South Africa.
Menendez received her PhD in economics from Boston University. Before coming to the University of Chicago, she was a lecturer in public and international affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School and a researcher at the Research Program in Development Studies at Princeton University.