Olga Lucía Acosta

Professional and specialized studies

• Master's Degree in Development Economics. Diplôme d'Etudes Approfondies (DEA) Paris, 1982-1984. Université Paris 1 – Panthéon-Sorbonne.
• Specialist in Economic Policy and Regulation. Diplôme d'Etudes Supérieurs Spécialisées D.E.S.S., Paris, 1989-1990. Université Paris 1 – Panthéon-Sorbonne and Institut International d'Administration Publique, I.I.A.P.
• Economist. Universidad para la Cooperación Internacional - UCI. 1981
• Thesis: "State and Economy in the National Front" (Meritorious).
  Master’s Program for Economists Universidad Nacional de Colombia: 1981.

Additional courses and studies

• Workshop on Performance Contracts. Boston Institute for Development Economies, Boston, June and July 1994.
• Development and Use of National Accounts”, Paris 1984. Centre d'Etudes de Perfectionnement Economique et Financier C.E.P.E.F.
• Perspectives on International Economic Law. Academy of International Law, The Hague, The Netherlands, Summer Course, July and August 1984.
• “Training of Trainers.” Institut International d'Administration Publique, I.I.A.P. Paris, short course, March and April 1984.

Work experience

Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)

Position: Regional Advisor in charge of the office in Bogota from 21 August 2006 to June 2009. From this date, Regional Expert. From January 2021, Officer in Charge of the Office in Bogota.

Ongoing projects:

Rural-urban bonding as a development policy

Technical cooperation exercises

1. Coordinator of Line 5 Education for all: Access and permanence with equity and emphasis on rural education. Misión de Educadores y Sabiduría Ciudadana (Mission of Educators and Citizen Wisdom), Bogota Department of Education. 2020 - 2021
2. Expert of the Comisión de Estudios del Sistema Tributario Territorial (Commission of Studies of the National Tax System). Resolution 2850 of 2019 of the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit. 2019 - 2020
3. Member of the group of experts to conceptualize the peasantry in Colombia, convened by the Attorney General's Office, April - June 2018
4. Member of the Comité Estratégico de la Misión de Crecimiento Verde (Strategic Committee, Green Growth Mission), convened by The National Planning Department (DNP in Spanish). January 2017 - June 2018
5. Social Protection System for the Rural Population, Misión para la Transformación del Campo (Mission for the Transformation of the Countryside). 2014 - 2015
6. Social policy strategies, Misión de Ciudades (Mission of Cities). National Planning Department. From February 2013- 2014
7. Alternatives for institutional consolidation of the Colombian Social Protection System, a joint project with the Social Development Division of the National Planning Department (DNP). 2010-2012
8. Member of the Committee of Experts on the Measurement of Multidimensional Poverty, convened by the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE in Spanish), since September 2012.
9. Participation in the coordination of the National Development Plan 2010-2014 (September 2010-May 2011).

Universidad del Rosario, School of Economics

Professor and researcher from August 2002 to August 20, 2006.

Main research projects

1. Equity in the Colombian Health System for Fundación Corona and the DNP. December 2005 - December 2006
2. Estimation of the Fiscal Costs of the goals established by the Mission for the Design of a Strategy to Reduce Poverty and Inequality, in accordance with the Millennium Goals and the 2019 Goals of the National Planning Department. December 2005 - June 2006
3. Incidence of the main public subsidies in the Special District for the Administrative Department of District Planning. January 2006 - December 2006
4. Analysis of the education, health, and housing policies contained in Bogota’s new development plan, for the Personería Distrital. March 2005- January 2006
5. Financing of the first pillar in the Pension System. February - June 2004
6. Optimization alternatives for the Colombian Foreign Service for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  October 2004 - March 2005
7. Review of the Studies on Sustainability of the General System of Social Security in Health. December 2003 - September 2004
8. Financial Strategy of Colombia's Social Protection System for the Ministry of Social Protection. September 2003 - March 2004
9. Youth and Pensions: Intergenerational Inequity, project for the Colombia Joven Program of the Presidency of the Republic. December 2004 - June 2005
10. Analysis of the 2003 Quality of Life Survey for DANE January - June 2004
11. Teaching Career Salary Paths, for the Ministry of Education. September 2003 - June 2004
12. Analysis of the Social Protection Network for ECLAC. November 2002 - June 2003
13. Demand Indicators of the Higher Education Information System, for the Ministry of Education. August 2002 - March 2003

Fedesarrollo

Editor of Coyuntura Social magazine from September 1997 to September 2001. Follow-up of the main social indicators in Education, Health, Justice, and Violence; research in the social area and organization of Social Situation Debates.

Associate Researcher, September 2001-July 2002:

Research and projects carried out

1. Member of the Technical Secretariat of the Public Revenue Mission, hired by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit for the study of the Colombian Tax Structure. Person in charge of the Decentralization Chapter together with Professor Richard Bird.
2. Implementation of the Social Survey project. Since 1999, a biannual social survey of 1,500 households in the four main cities was designed to determine changes in the social problems of families, the impact of public policies, and their reactions to economic, natural, and social shocks. In mid-February 2000, this project received financial support from the World Bank for its consolidation in its first phase. The project was selected from over 1,200 proposals from 60 countries for its contribution to the definition of Colombia's social policy, and the fight against poverty. The selection was made during the Development Marketplace, along with 43 other initiatives that include programs for children, the environment, social security, and health system reforms.
3. Policies to promote an expansion of Pension System coverage in Colombia, with Ulpiano Ayala, for the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
4. Fiscal Costs and Pension Reforms in Colombia, with Ulpiano Ayala, for the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, ECLAC.
5. Fiscal Evaluation of Decentralization. Consultancy with Juan Gonzalo Zapata for the National Planning Department.
6. A chapter on projection of the General System of Social Security in Health: 2001-2010, for the Human Resources project carried out with CENDEX of the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana for the Reform Support Program.
7. Public Social Spending and Financial Architecture: How Existing and Expected Fiscal Conditions Affect the Provision of Social Services in Colombia. Consultancy conducted for the World Bank.
8. Proposal for the Reform of Budgetary Institutions for Banco de la República (the Central Bank of Colombia), with Ulpiano Ayala.
9. Civil Service in the Capital District, Research conducted with Bernardo Guerrero and Luis Bernardo Mejía in the context of the Misión Capital (Capital Mission).
10. A chapter on Institutional Problems of the Educational Sector, with Professor George Borjas of Harvard University, for the Misión de Reformas Institucionales (Mission of Institutional Reforms), directed by Professor Alberto Alesina.
11. Transparency and Accountability in the Colombian Public Hospital Sector. Research conducted with Ursula Giedion and Luis Gonzalo Morales for the IDB Centers Network.
12. Fiscal relations Nation District (November 1998-April 1999) with Israel Fainboim, and Catalina Gutierrez. 
13. Evaluation of the Finances of the Judicial Branch (December 1998-May 1999) with Israel Fainboim, Catalina Gutierrez, and Adriana González.
14. The Pension System for Public Sector Employees. Consultancy for the Inter-American Development Bank. November 1999.
15. Evaluation of the Pension Reform; (December 1997-April 1998) with Dr. Ulpiano Ayala.
16. Evaluation of the Justice Sector Reforms during the 1990s. (March 1997-August 1998) with Israel Fainboim. (IDB financing).
17. How to Reorganize the Health Sector: Challenges for the Next Four Years. With Mauricio Cárdenas and Úrsula Giedion.
18. Debates on the Social Situation:

• Warning Signs in the Health Sector. 27 February 2001
• The Need to Strengthen Pension Reform. 23 June 2000
• The 1998-2002 Development Plan (15 January 1999)
• Low-Income Housing (30 August 1998)
• Financial Situation of the Health Sector (29 July 1998)
• Employment (held in Cali, 26 May 1998)..

Commission for the Rationalization of Expenditure and Public

Technical Secretary, August 1995-September 1997, with the following responsibilities:

1. Preparation of documents for the Commission's meetings;
2. Coordination of the Commission’s Hearings;
3. Editing and publication of recommendations;
4. Dissemination of the Commission's recommendations in forums, seminars, and other events.

Ministry of Finance and Public Credit

Advisor to the Fiscal Policy Board (CONFIS in Spanish), from July 1993 to August 1995, with the following functions: 

1. Advisor to the Ministry of Finance on fiscal policy matters. 
2. Coordination and monitoring of fiscal policy in the context of Macroeconomic Programming. Preparation of the Annual Financial Plan.
3. Based on the Public Sector Reform Plan 1990-1994, follow up on the modernization plan of public entities.
4. Follow-up to the Social Security Reforms (Law 100 of 1993), and Decentralization (Law 60 of 1993).
5. Different programs of private participation in Public Entities.
6. Design management indicators, negotiation, and follow-up of Performance Agreements with Public Companies (Ecopetrol, Telecom, Idema, and Electric Sector Companies)..

Banco de la República

1. Head of Currency and Banking, Economic Research Department (April 1992 - June 1993). Preparation of periodic reports for monetary authorities, International Monetary Fund missions, and Bank publications.
2. Head of Financial Accounts, Economic Research Department (February 1986 - March 1992). Preparation of a quarterly document on the economic situation and monitoring of the financial flows of the various economic agents.
3. Economist. Economic Research Department. April 1985-January 1986.

University chair

Universidad de Los Andes

School of Business Administration. Master's Program and MBA. 

• Social Situation Module since 2008-- 

School of Business Administration. Management Development Program.  

• Course on Principles of Macroeconomics and macroeconomic indicators for managers of Davivienda, Banco de Colombia, and Seguros Bolivar. (2001-2002) 
• Workshop with local mayors of the Capital District on social service provision, budget, and local management.  April 2000. 

School of Economics: Graduate Specialization Program: 

• Research Seminar II. Second semester of 1999. 
• 1994-1995 Chair of Fiscal Theory and Policy. Second semester 1997. Chair shared with PhD Ulpiano Ayala.

Banking Specialization Program:

• Module on Economic Situation and Analysis of the Environment (1998, and 1999)

Master's Degree in Political Science. 

• Seminar on Colombian Political Economy and modules on Public Expenditure Allocation, and Institutional Analysis (1995 - 1997). 

Universidad del Rosario

School of Economics 

• Pension Economics. Seminar I semester 2006
• Macroeconomics, from 2003 to first semester 2006. 
• Course on Colombian Public Finances, 2002.

Law School

• Specialization in Public Finance: Module: Economic Effect of Taxes.
• Master’s Degree in Administrative Law: Module: Economic Foundations of Administrative Law. 

Universidad Externado de Colombia

• Specialization in Social Security: Module on Social Security Financing, from October 2012 to 2021.
• Specialization in Social Policy: Seminar on decentralization and governance, from 2019 to 2021.

Universidad Nacional

Law School. Specialization in Social Security.

• Course on fiscal and financial aspects of social security (health and pensions) 1999 -2002

Universidad Javeriana

School of Economics 

• Chair of Fiscal Theory and Policy. Second semester 1997. Chair shared with Carlos Eduardo Vélez. 
• Seminar on Fiscal Decentralization, with Juan Gonzalo Zapata. First semester 1998.
• Courses: Introduction to Economics (1986), Monetary Theory and Policy (1986-1989)

Expert Member

• Expert member of the Comité Autónomo de la Regla Fiscal (CARF), for a period of 4 years, appointed by resolution 2498 of 31 December 2021.

Boards of Directors

• Member of the Board of Directors of the Social Foundation from May 2004 to March 2010.
• Member of the Social Council of the Social Foundation since February 2012.
• Member of the Board of Directors of the Saldarriaga Concha Foundation since June 2013.

Awards

• Premio a la docencia Académica. Facultad de Economía Universidad del Rosario. 2004
• Revista Gerente 100 Líderes de la Sociedad, noviembre 2005

Publications

• Vínculos rurales-urbanos y tejidos territoriales para el desarrollo inclusivo en Colombia Marco Analítico y Conceptual. Juan Carlos Ramirez, Olga Lucia Acosta, Yaddi Miranda, Diego Mora, Juliana Nino, Sonia Monroy. Series Estudios y Perspectivas-ECLAC Office in Bogota, 39 LC/TS.2022/21-LC/BOG/TS.2021/1), Santiago, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), 2022.
• “Dos piezas clave para un mejor gasto público: Fortalecer la autonomía de las entidades territoriales y dotar al Estatuto Presupuestal de un enfoque de resultados.” Olga Lucia Acosta N. in Revista Economía Colombiana Edition 351. Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic. January - March 2018.
• “¿Quién debe tributar, hogares o empresas? Ingresos, impuestos y distribución en Colombia.” Olga Lucia Acosta, Francisco Azuero Zúñiga, and Tomás Concha Llorente (LC/BOG/L,36), 2017.
• “Tributación en Colombia: Reformas, evasión y equidad, Notas de estudio.” Tomás Concha, Juan Carlos Ramírez, and Olga Lucia Acosta (LC/BOG/L,38), ECLAC Office in Bogotá, Series Estudios y Perspectivas 2017.
• “Latin American pathways to achieve universal health coverage” Olga Lucia Acosta and Simone Cecchini. Policy in Focus, a publication of The International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth. United Nations Development Program. Volume 13, Issue 1, June 2016.
• “La protección social de la población rural en Colombia. Una propuesta desde la perspectiva de las familias y sus necesidades.” Olga Lucía Acosta, María Alejandra Botiva, Juan Carlos Ramírez J., and Luis Uribe (LC/L.4100, LC/BOG/L.34), December 2015.
• “Demografía y Hábitat” (Unit 3) in “Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible, Colombia Herramientas de aproximación al contexto local.” UNDP. September 2015 ISBN 978-958-8902-92-2.
• “Bienes y servicios públicos sociales en la zona rural de Colombia. Brechas y políticas públicas.” Juan Carlos Ramírez J., Renata Pardo, Olga Lucía Acosta, and Luis Javier Uribe (LC/L.4062/Rev.1, LC/BOG/L.33/Rev.1), August 2015.
• “Políticas sociales diferenciadas para las ciudades en Colombia: una nueva generación de políticas sociales.”  Ramírez Jaramillo, Juan Carlos - Acosta, Olga Lucía - Pardo, Renata (LC/L.3980, LC/BOG/L.31), March 2015.
• “Sistema de protección social de Colombia: avances y desafíos.” Olga Lucía Acosta, Nohora Forero Ramírez, and Renata Pardo Pinzón (LC/L.3960, LC/BOG/L.32), February 2015.
• “Universal health coverage in Latin American countries: how to improve solidarity-based schemes” coauthor with Daniel Titelman and Oscar Cetrángolo. The Lancet, Early Online Publication, 16 October 2014 doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61780-3 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/&nbsp.
• “Financiación de la Seguridad Social en Salud: Fuentes de recursos y su administración. Problemas y alternativas.” coauthor with Catalina Gutierrez and Eduardo Andres Alfonso. In “La Salud en Colombia: Logros retos y Recomendaciones” Libro Blanco en Salud Universidad de los Andes, Edited by Oscar Bernal and Catalina Gutierrez, (2012), May.
• “Sistema de salud y democracia: el caso de Colombia” co-authored with Úrsula Giedion (Chapter V) in “La política ¬fiscal para el afianzamiento de las democracias en América Latina: Reflexiones a partir de una serie de estudios de caso” Alicia Bárcena and Oswaldo Kacef, Compilers (2011).
• LC/W.409 United Nations ECLAC-UNDP, July.
• Ten Years of Health System Reform: Health Care Financing Lessons from Colombia (chapter 6), Coauthor with María-Luisa Escobar, Ursula Giedion, Ramón A. Castaño, Diana M. Pinto, and Fernando Ruiz Gómez in From Few to Many (2009) edited by Amanda L Glassman, Maria Luisa Escobar, Antonio Guiffrida, and Ursula Giedion. IDB, Brookings. ISBN 978-1-53782-073-8.
• “Desarrollo Vial e Impacto Fiscal del Sistema de Concesiones en Colombia,” Coauthor with Patricio Rozas Balbontin and Alejandro Silva in Series Recursos Naturales e Infraestructura 138, November 2008. ISBN 978-92-1-323229-3.
• “Avances y desafíos de la equidad en el sistema de salud colombiano” in Coauthor with Carmen Elisa Flórez, Victoria Eugenia Soto of the Centro de estudios sobre desarrollo económico Facultad de economía de la Universidad de los Andes, and Claudio Kart, Juan Diego Misas, Nohora Forero, and Carolina Lopera of the Facultad de Economía del Colegio Mayor de Nuestra Señora del Rosario. Fundación Corona, 2007, Working Paper 15.
• “El Dilema de la Descentralización en Colombia” coauthor with Richard Bird in Bases para una reforma tributaria estructural en Colombia" Edited by Richard M Bird, James M. Poterba, and Joel Slemrod. Banco de la República and Fedesarrollo, 2006.
• “¿Cómo Financiar los Programas del Primer Pilar?” in “El Fortalecimiento de los Nuevos Sistemas Previsionales: El Rol de cada Pilar en la Solución del Problema de las Pensiones” edited by the International Federation of Pension Fund Administrators (FIAP in Spanish), Santiago, Chile, February 2006.
• “La viabilidad del sistema de salud: Qué dicen los estudios.” Working Paper No. 12 Authors: Olga Lucía Acosta, Manuel Ramírez, Carlos Iván Cañón, with comments by Sergio Clavijo and Héctor Cadena. Fundación Corona, Universidad del Rosario 84 pages, July 2005.
• The Dilemma of Decentralization in Colombia. Olga Lucia Acosta and Richard M. Bird. In Fiscal Reform in Colombia: Problems and Prospects Edited by Richard M. Bird, James M. Poterba, and Joel Slemrod, MIT press. November 2005. ISBN 0-262-02585-X 336 pp.
• “Hacia un Sistema Nacional de Información de la Educación Superior” Coauthor with Hernán Jaramillo Salazar, Darío Vélez Botero, José Manuel Restrepo Abondano, Jorge Lucio Álvarez, Mauricio Vélez López de Mesa, Catalina Latorre Santos, Manuel Ramirez Gómez Manuel Rey Ayala, and Cristina Pombo Rivera. Universidad del Rosario. 2005.
• “Cómo financiar los programas del primer pilar” Borradores de Investigación 79 School of Economics Universidad del Rosario. October, 2005.
• “Acceso de los hogares a los principales servicios públicos y sociales y percepciones de calidad sobre estos servicios”  Coauthor with José Alberto Guerra and David Mauricio Rivera.  Borradores de Investigación 76 School of Economics Universidad del Rosario. August, 2005.
• “Los jóvenes y el sistema pensional colombiano: inequidad intergeneracional” Coauthor with Cristina Pombo and José Alberto Guerra. Borradores de Investigación 74 School of Economics Universidad del Rosario. July, 2005.
• “Una aproximación al financiamiento de un sistema de protección social en Colombia” Coauthor with Luis Fernando Gamboa. Borradores de Investigación No. 69 School of Economics Universidad del Rosario. June, 2005.
• Public Expenditure in Education in the nineties, with George Borjas in "Institutional Reforms in Colombia" edited by Alberto Alesina, MIT, Press. January 2005.  
• “Las Redes de Protección Social: Modelo Incompleto.” Coauthor with Juan Carlos Ramírez In the series Financiamiento para el Desarrollo No. 141. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. ECLAC. February 2004.
• “Recursos Públicos y Educación en los años noventa,” coauthor with George Borjas. In Reformas Institucionales en Colombia, Alfaomega, April 2002.
• “Se consolidó la sostenibilidad fiscal de los municipios colombianos durante los noventa?” Coauthor with Juan Gonzalo Zapata. In “Evaluación de la Descentralización Municipal en Colombia: Balance de Una Década. DNP, UNDP, GTZ, FONADE.” Volume II April 2002.
• “Evaluación de la Descentralización Municipal en Colombia: ¿Se consolidó la sostenibilidad fiscal de los municipios colombianos durante los noventa?” Coauthor with Juan Gonzalo Zapata.  Archivos de Economía No. 165, National Planning Department, November.
• “Políticas para promover una ampliación de la cobertura del sistema de pensiones en Colombia.” Coauthor with Ulpiano Ayala. In the series Financiamiento para el Desarrollo 118. Economic Commission for Latin America. ECLAC. April 2002.
• “Reformas Pensionales y Costos Fiscales en Colombia.”  Coauthor with Ulpiano Ayala. In the series Financiamiento para el Desarrollo No. 116. Economic Commission for Latin America. ECLAC. November 2001.
• “Los recursos humanos de salud en Colombia: Balance competencias y prospectiva" Coauthor with Fernando Ruiz et al. Result of the study carried out by Unión Temporal, Cendex Universidad - Javeriana, Fedesarrollo, and Family Health Foundation for the Reform Support Program of the Ministry of Health. Centro Editorial Javeriano, CEJA, September 2001.
• “The Impact of Health Reforms on Irregularities in Bogota Hospitals.” Coauthor with Ursula Giedion and Luis Gonzalo Morales and published in the book DIAGNOSIS CORRUPTION, edited by Rafael Di Tella and William D: Savedoff.  Inter-American Development Bank. Washington 2001.
• “Efectos de la Reforma en Salud sobre las conductas irregulares en los hospitales públicos: el caso de Bogotá, Distrito Capital, Colombia.” Coauthor with Ursula Giedion and Luis Gonzalo Morales. Inter-American Development Bank IDB, Centers Network Working Paper, R-426 January 2001.
• “Education Reform in Colombia.” Coauthor with George Borjas. Fedesarrollo Working Papers 19, August 2000.
• “Relaciones Fiscales Nación – Distrito” Coauthor with Israel Fainboim, Catalina Gutierrez, and Blanca Cecilia Zuluaga. In Coyuntura Social 20. Fedesarrollo. May 1999.
• “El Gasto Público en Justicia” in Ámbito Jurídico - Legis Journal, May 1999.
• “Retos y Desafíos del Sector Salud para los Próximos cuatro años.” Presentation prepared with Ursula Giedion for the Debate on this sector held in August 1998, published in Debates de Coyuntura Social 10.
• “Evaluación de las Reformas del Sector Justicia en Colombia en la década de los Noventa.” Coauthor with Israel Fainboim. Research work financed by the Inter-American Development Bank. September 1998. Mimeo.
• “Evaluación del Sistema Pensional Colombiano y Propuestas para su Consolidación y Modernización.” Coauthor with Ulpiano Ayala. Research work by Fedesarrollo for Asofondos. April (1998). Mimeo (In process of editing).
• “El Saneamiento Fiscal, Un compromiso de la Sociedad.” Final Report of the Commission for the Rationalization of Expenditures and Public Finances. Six volumes. October 1997. Editor with Mr. Gabriel Rosas Vega.
• “Gobernabilidad Fiscal en Colombia.” Coauthor with Israel Faimboim, Mauricio Olivera, and Manuel Castro. Mimeo. 1997.
• “Cómo Van las empresas industriales y comerciales del Estado?” in Revista Estrategia Económica y Financiera 240, July 1996.
• “Los Convenios de Desempeño.”  Experience on the design of indicators for performance evaluation in different entities of the public sector. Coauthor with Luz Marina Rincón.
• “Observaciones Sobre las Políticas de Privatización y Regulación,” coauthor with Israel Fainboim in “Las Reformas Económicas del Gobierno del presidente Gaviria: una visión desde adentro” Olga Lucía Acosta and Israel Fainboim, Editors. August 1994.
• “El proceso de descentralización fiscal en Colombia y sus perspectivas,” coauthor with Israel Fainboim and Héctor José Cadena, in the magazine Coyuntura Social 10, May 1994.
• “Evolución del ahorro y comportamiento financiero de los agentes” in Memorias del Primer Congreso Nacional del Ahorro, held in Cartagena in August 1991.
• “Estructura Financiera de las Sociedades: Ejercicio de Aplicación de las Cuentas Financieras.” In the journal Ensayos sobre Política Económica 10, Banco de la República. December 1986.