Ricardo Paes de Barros is the Director of Social Policy and Research at the National Institute for Applied Economic Research (IPEA) in Brazil. He has been a researcher at IPEA for over 20 years, and is the author of numerous books and scientific publications on labor and human development economics in Brazil, including an award-winning article on The evolution of welfare, poverty and inequality in Brazil over the last three decades: 1960-1990. Dr. Barros holds a Ph.D.