Nicolas Fernandez-Arias is an economist in the Multilateral Surveillance Division of the IMF Research Department. Prior to this, he was in the Western Hemisphere Department, covering the Dominican Republic, Panama, and Nicaragua. His research includes macroeconomics, economic growth, and innovation, and employs a combination of empirical analysis and quantitative structural modelling to explain economic data and analyze economic policies. He holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics and an A.B. in Mathematics from Princeton University.