Luis Marques has been named assistant professor of international economics and the inaugural Center for Transatlantic Relations (CTR) Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Fellow. Marques comes to SAIS from the University of Rochester, where he earned his Ph.D. in economics and served as teaching assistant in the Economics Department and at the W. E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration. He previously taught econometrics at the Universidade do Porto in Portugal as well as courses on futures and options for business professionals. A native of Portugal, Marques also was a corporate banker at Banco BPI.
What attracted you to SAIS?
The quality of the International Economics faculty and their commitment to rigorous research in economics attracted me to SAIS, along with the opportunity to teach and conduct my research agenda in such a diverse environment.
What areas of expertise do you bring to SAIS?
My research focuses on international finance and open economy macroeconomics. Specifically, I am interested in exchange rates, international capital flows and corporate governance. My approach to these topics is both analytical and computational.
What are some important trends in your field of study?
In the last 20 years, both industrialized and emerging market economies have become increasingly integrated—measured by ever-increasing volumes of trade in goods and assets. This means new avenues of research that link this reality to issues like the determination of exchange rates, the ability of economies to pool risk, the impact of currency movements on welfare and, on a more fundamental level, what drives asset movements between countries, in the short and long run.
What are some of your current projects and areas of research?
I have tried to answer a few, from my point of view, important questions: Can one use private information dispersed in stock markets to forecast not only stock returns but also currency returns? What are the implications of temporary and permanent currency depreciations on consumer welfare? How can we explain the fact that consumption is more volatile than income for most emerging market economies? And why do CEOs earn so much more in some countries than others?
What are your goals for this academic year?
My primary goal is to further my research agenda. This will hopefully mean an increased rhythm of publications in top journals in fi nance and economics. As the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Fellow, I intend to give a European focus to some of these research areas, which ideally will have meaningful policy implications. I also intend to solidify my teaching of microeconomics and macroeconometrics and, by doing that, to contribute to the SAIS community.
What do you consider your “hometown,” and what do you enjoy doing outside of your scholarly pursuits?
My hometown is any place where I feel at home. Right now, that means Washington, D.C., during most of the year and Madrid in the summer. However, whenever I go to Oporto, Portugal—specifically to a town some 20 miles to the north, Povoa de Varzim, where I was born—it feels like home. I enjoy spending time with my wife, cooking and going to museums—and there are so many good ones here—and concerts.
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