The Master's in Economics (Research Track) "allows you to develop your potential as a researcher"

Tealde, 28, is a graduate student, professor, and researcher. Among his academic works, a study on the spending habits of cruise passengers visiting the Colombian Caribbean stands out, as does his master’s thesis—still in progress—which focuses on equal opportunity, education, and regional development.

- What do you consider to be the most notable features of the Master’s in Economics (Research Track)?

- I would highlight three key aspects. First, the close interaction that students have with all the faculty members involved in the master’s program. This is a distinguishing feature, as the added value of an intensive exchange of ideas with experienced research scholars is crucial, particularly during the thesis writing phase. In my case, this close relationship even led me, along with a classmate and a professor, to write two articles—one already published and another soon to be published—in a leading journal in the field of Tourism Economics.

The second point I would like to highlight is the value of having faculty members who work at universities abroad.

The third factor is the program’s structure itself. In the first year, students must take course exams, and the entire second year is devoted to writing the thesis. It’s interesting how quickly you find yourself immersed in this process as you specialize in your chosen field.

Both the courses and the atmosphere fostered by the Master’s program, as well as the close rapport with professors and scholars from Uruguay and abroad, constitute—in my view—the defining feature of this graduate program: it places students in a vibrant academic environment and provides them with everything they need to develop their potential as researchers.

- Why did you decide to pursue a master's degree?

- Because I wanted to develop as a researcher and felt I lacked the tools to do so. When I heard about the Master’s in Research Economics program, I felt it would provide me with what I was missing. I found the program to be rigorous, requiring students to be highly motivated. The program is not designed to enable students to produce a single research paper, but rather to equip them with the knowledge to conduct high-quality research not only in the topic of their thesis but also in any other areas they wish to explore.

- You are a co-author of the research paper "The Economic Impact of Cruise Tourism: An Analysis of Spending by Cruise Passengers Visiting the Colombian Caribbean," published by the School of Business and Social Sciences. Why did you decide to explore this topic in depth? What conclusions did you reach?

- We decided to explore this topic further because of tourism’s significance in the global economy and because cruise ships are an increasingly important part of the tourism industry. Our country is no exception to this trend. It is important to understand the magnitude of the impact that cruise ship arrivals have on the local economy. However, we have not been able to conduct research for Uruguay, as the data currently available regarding cruise passengers arriving in our country does not allow for it.

We conducted a study for the port of Cartagena de Indias (Colombia) because the available data was sufficient to undertake the research. Our findings indicate that cruise passengers exhibit observable characteristics that allow us to predict how much they will spend and on what categories when they disembark from the cruise ship. For example, in our case study, younger people and those traveling in groups are the most likely to spend money. A study of this nature would be very important for Uruguay, not only to assess the real impact of cruise tourism on our country, but also so that stakeholders in the tourism sector can derive greater benefit from the cruise ships arriving in Uruguay.

- What is the topic of the research thesis you are writing for your master’s degree, the second chapter of which you recently presented at the Central Bank of Uruguay’s (BCU) Economic Conference under the title “Regional Determinants of Demand for Higher Education in Uruguay”?

- The thesis I am writing for my master’s degree focuses on equal opportunity, education, and regional development. Through my research, I have found that the educational achievements of people from Montevideo are significantly higher than those of people born in the interior of the country. At the same time, the interior of the country is not a homogeneous region, as there are significant differences in educational achievement among people born in different departments.

In this thesis, I focus on how the characteristics of the region of the country where a person is born influence their access to education, particularly higher education. In this regard, there is a significant degree of inequality among those born in different departments, which results in disparities in regional development, since the skill level of the workforce in each region varies greatly.

One of the papers included in the thesis is the one I presented at the BCU’s Annual Economics Conference. This paper focuses on regional differences in the economic returns of obtaining a college degree. My main finding is that college graduates are in higher demand in the country’s poorest regions, as there is a shorter supply of professionals in those areas.

- What are your responsibilities at the Ministry of Economy and Finance?

- I serve as an advisor in the area of trade policy, primarily on matters related to the country's integration into the global economy through trade agreements.

- You were an assistant professor in the master's program. What do you enjoy most about this role?

- Last semester, I served as an teaching assistant for the Econometrics course in the Master’s in Research Economics program. It has been a very rewarding experience. I enjoy both the course material and the interaction with the students. Revisiting the topics from a different perspective has allowed me to learn new things and view them more critically.

Interview published in September 2011