Crunching Numbers to Disentangle Economic Effects

Thanks to econometrics, Claudia Pereira da ConceiÒ«ão found her career. "Econometrics democratizes the economy, because through numbers you can identify the true effects of the economy on society," says the 27-year-old, who works as a senior econometric consultant at Bates White Economic Consulting, a consultancy headquartered in Washington, DC. A Bocconi Bachelor in Economics and Social Sciences who then got her MA at the University of Wisconsin in Madison by majoring in econometrics, Claudia is the new leader of the Washington Chapter of the Bocconi Alumni community.

➜ What's your job as econometric consultant like?
I develop econometric models to calculate the economic impact of lawsuits concerning financial instruments, for example regarding consumers, investors and banks. In court, the amount of damage compensation due to consumers is established on the basis of the econometric estimates provided by my work team. It is not a very common thing in Italy.

➜ How did you start your journey?
I was born in Brazil, which my mother and I left in the 1990s, when hyperinflation made many people migrate out of the country. At the age of seven, I arrived in the Italian city of Latina. In school, I developed a great interest in mathematics and logic. I was also very involved in local social causes. When I had to choose my college studies, I thought that economics represented the perfect synthesis of my interests because it uses mathematics to address social issues.

➜ And so you thought of doing an undergraduate degree at Bocconi..
It was a dream, which fortunately came true thanks to a Bocconi ISU scholarship. In those years, I laid the groundwork for what then became my primary interest: econometrics. And the choice of doing my graduate studies in the US had a lot to with Bocconi's international penchant, which encourages students to make global experiences. After the MA in Madison, my road was marked. At the end of my second year of graduate studies, Bates White contacted the University of Wisconsin in order to have profiles of students who were brilliant in econometrics and statistics. Then in 2015, they hired me straight after graduation.

➜ But what is econometrics for you?
It is a discipline that allows you to put real figures on the effects of the economy on society. A number is easier to understand, has more immediacy and objectivity. This is why I argue that econometrics represents the democratization of the economy. And that's what I like best.

➜ You are the leader of Bocconi Alumni in Washington. What are the upcoming activities of your chapter?
We are working on three fronts: social events, mentorships (most of the alumni living here work in international financial institutions such as the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund), and the organization of conferences on economic and business issues.