Professor Francisco H. G. Ferreira
About
Francisco H. G. Ferreira is the Amartya Sen Professor of Inequality Studies at the London School of Economics, where he is also Director of the International Inequalities Institute. His work on the measurement, causes, and consequences of inequality and poverty in developing countries has been published widely and awarded various prizes, including the Richard Stone Prize in Applied Econometrics and the Kendrick Prize from the International Association for Research in Income and Wealth.
He is also a non-resident Research Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) and an Affiliated Scholar with the Stone Centers at both the City University of New York and at the University of Chicago. He currently serves as President Elect of the Society for the Study of Economic Inequality (ECINEQ) and on the United Nations University Council. He is a past President of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association (LACEA) and a former Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Economic Inequality. Prior to joining the LSE, Francisco worked at the World Bank, where his positions included Chief Economist for the Africa Region and Senior Adviser in the Research Department. He has also taught Economics at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro and at the Paris School of Economics. He was born and raised in São Paulo, Brazil, and holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the LSE.
Expertise
Measurement, Causes and Consequences of Inequality and Poverty
Recent event recordings and interviews:
- "5 anos de covid: como a pior pandemia de nossa geração mudou o mundo, da saúde e ciência à economia e política" - feature in BBC article. Read the article here.
- "¿Qué hemos aprendido con "Pensar la Igualdad"?" - podcast episode with the Interamerican Development Bank as part of their Voces en Acción series. Listen here.
- White Wine with Lunch: How much luxury is reasonable for one person? - podcast episode for CBC Listen. Listen here.
- "How artificial intelligence is helping to identify global inequalities" - podcast episode for Nature Careers podcast on UN Sustainable Development Goal No.10. Listen here.
- "¿Qué tan desiguales somos?" - podcast episode with the Interamerican Development Bank as part of their Voces en Acción series. Listen here.
- "Webster Vienna Hosts First Dr. Elizabeth Chopin Visiting Professor - Francisco H. G. Ferreira" - feature in Webster university news. Read the article here.
- "Principles of Charity: Are Things Getting Better or Worse?" - two podcast episodes on whether the world is improving or not. Listen here.
- "Inequality of opportunity and mobility in Latin America" - keynote lecture given for UNU-WIDER. Watch the event recording here.
- "Combating inequality of opportunity: the role of human capital investments" - lecture given at the Inter-American Development Bank. Watch the event recording here.
- "Measurement, Causes and Consequences of Economic Inequality: A Whirlwind Tour" - open lecture given at the Joint Vienna Institute. Watch the event recording here and access the slides here.
- "Equality in an Unequal World" - inaugural lecture at Convoco! 2022. Watch the lecture here and watch Professor Ferreira in conversation with Professor Jens Beckert here.
- "Oxfam says the rich got richer in the pandemic, and the wealth gap is killing the poor" - feature in NPR article. Read the article here.
- COVID and the Global Wealth Gap: what can be done to fix it?" - video interview with DW News. Watch the video here.
- "Perspectives on the COVID-19 Pandemic" - panel event organised by LSE School of Public Policy. Listen to a podcast recording of the event here or watch a video recording of the event here.
- "Future of Capitalism and Inequality" - talk as part of CEO Oxford´s and LSE´s Virtual Series. Watch a video recording of the event here.
- "Humanity: Pathway to Peace "- episode on the Drive Time Show Podcast. Listen to the episode here.
- "Estimates of the global mortality and poverty effects of the COVID-19 pandemic" - video interview with Faculti. Watch the interview here.
"Economic development and inequality of opportunity," UNU WIDER Working Paper 25, 2025. (with Domenico Moramarco and Vito Peragine) [working paper]
"Inherited Inequality, Meritocracy, and the Purpose of Economic Growth", International Inequalities Institute Working Paper 147, LSE. 2024. (with Paolo Brunori) [working paper]
"Inherited Inequality: a general framework and an application to South Africa", International Inequalities Institute Working Paper 107, LSE. 2023. (with Paolo Brunori and Pedro Salas-Rojo) [working paper]
"Is there a ‘new consensus’ on inequality?" International Inequalities Institute Working Paper 101, LSE. [working paper]