Patricia Cortes

Patricia Cortes studies unexplored but potentially key dimensions in which immigration affects sending and receiving countries, such as prices of goods and services, time use of women, and the well-being of the family left behind. Her research provides valuable information for policy decision-making. She hopes to give students interesting examples from the developing world and to familiarize them with the economic, social, and political situation of other countries besides the United States.

A research fellow for the Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration at University College of London, Cortes referees several journals, including Journal of Political Economy, Quarterly Journal of Economics, and Review of Economics and Statistics.

Cortes was a short-term consultant for the World Bank Research Department and an assistant researcher for the Inter-American Development Bank before joining the Chicago Booth faculty in 2006. Cortes earned a bachelor's degree in economics in 1998 and a master's degree in economics in 2000, both from Universidad de los Andes in Colombia. In 2006, she earned a PhD in economics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with her dissertation entitled, "How Low-Skilled Immigration is Changing U.S. Prices and Labor Markets." She is the recipient of the MIT Department of Economics Fellowship, the MIT Presidential Fellowship, and the Portfolio Award to the Best Student of Economic Sciences in Colombia.

Selected Publications

"The Effect of Low-Skilled Immigration on US Prices: Evidence from CPI data" (working paper).

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With Jose Tessada, "Cheap Maids and Nannies: How Low-Skilled Immigration is changing the Labor Supply of High-Skilled Women" (working paper).

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