Carlos Xabel Lastra-Anadón

Carlos Lastra-Anadon is an Assistant Professor of the Comparative Politics Department at IE University and the Director of Research at the Center for the Governance of Change. He completed his PhD in Government and Social Policy at Harvard University and was a postdoctoral research fellow at The Europe Center at the Freeman Spogli Institute at Stanford His research interests lie at the intersection of political economy and policy, particularly education policy, as well as health and education and environmental policies.

Part of his work has been concerned with understanding what sustains and enhances robust human capital formation and the role that the political process may play in facilitating or impeding its development in different contexts.

Over the last 20 years or so, the skills that countries have been investing in since World War II such as universal K-12 are becoming insufficient due to automation and delocalization of production and a job market inequality into highly rewarding high-skilled jobs and manual jobs. What drives successful nations, subnational units and companies to use education to tackle that challenge?

He studies the role that politics broadly understood plays in these dynamics. This includes the jurisdictional configurations and institutions (such as decentralization in school districts and funding rules), as well as public opinion, media, and interest groups. He has also recently focused on the particular challenges facing higher education and adult education.

ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE

• Assistant Professor, Comparative Politics Department (formerly Political Science), IE University, Spain, 2019–present
• Postdoctoral Research Associate, Stanford University Freeman Spogli Institute, 2018–2019                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

ACADEMIC BACKGROUND

• Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences – PhD Candidate in Government and Social Policy (on leave 2014–2015 as a consultant), 2012–2018.
• Harvard Kennedy School of Government – Master in Public Policy, with a specialization in education policy, economic development, and social entrepreneurship, 2009–2011.
• University of Oxford, United Kingdom – MMathPhil in Mathematics and Philosophy (joint degree), First Class Honours, 2002–2006.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGs)

4- Quality Education

13- Climate Action

16- Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions