About

R. Andrés Castañeda Aguilar · Senior Economist & Data Scientist

R. Andrés Castañeda Aguilar
Economics and data science.

Work

Poverty, inequality,
and data science.

I’m a Senior Economist and Data Scientist in the Data Analytics Unit, part of the Data Group in the World Bank’s Development Economics Department.

I study poverty and inequality through socioeconomic measurement and data analysis. This work examines the circumstances of people who are less well-off and provides evidence for public debate and policies aimed at reducing poverty and inequality.

I develop packages and analytical tools in R, Python, and Stata for socioeconomic research, including data access and reproducible analysis.

CV Contact →

Philosophy & evidence

Knowledge and evidence.

My interests include philosophy, especially epistemology: how we form beliefs, justify what we know, and connect empirical evidence with our understanding of the world.

Responsible AI

AI, evidence, and judgment.

My current work includes developing practices, protocols, guidelines, and tools for responsible AI. I’m concerned about the epistemic gap it can create: a growing distance between the answers people receive and the evidence needed to understand and evaluate them.

Missing provenance and the delegation of important decisions to AI are particular concerns. Responsible use should help people trace claims back to their sources and retain the judgment needed to make informed decisions.

Topics

Interests

  • Development economics
  • Poverty, inequality, and socioeconomic measurement
  • Data and evidence for public policy
  • Packages and workflows in R, Python, and Stata
  • Epistemology and empirical evidence
  • Responsible AI, provenance, and decision-making

Background

Education

M.A. in Apologetics
Biola University · 2019
M.Sc. in Economics
Universidad del Rosario · Bogotá, Colombia · 2010
B.Sc. in Economics
Universidad del Rosario · Bogotá, Colombia · 2009
B.Sc. in Finance and International Trade
Universidad del Rosario · Bogotá, Colombia · 2012

My contributions also include analytical resources such as the LAC Equity Lab and the South Asia Region MicroData user manual, alongside the tools and infrastructure listed on this site.