Photograph of Fernando DePaolis
Office
McCone Building M113
Tel
(831) 647-3568
Email
fdepaolis@miis.edu

Fernando DePaolis teaches Data Analysis, Development Economics, and other advanced quantitative policy analysis courses. He holds a Ph.D. in Urban Planning from the University of California-Los Angeles. He has been the Regional Economist with the Denver Regional Council of Governments (Denver, Colorado). Over the years, he has consulted extensively for cities and counties in the United States, international organizations, and multiple non-governmental organizations. Professor DePaolis is also a senior researcher at the MIIS Center for the Blue Economy, where he develops research and teaches courses on the problems and solutions at the interface between large bodies of water (oceans and lakes) and urban agglomerations. Prof. DePaolis has been a Fulbright-LASPAU scholar. At MIIS, he has been Assistant Dean, Program Chair, and President of the Faculty Senate. In his spare time, Prof. DePaolis is an avid outdoorsman, off-roader and explorer of the California wilderness. 

Courses Taught

Course Description

Introduction to Policy and Data Analysis

This course is a guided introduction to conceptualizing problems and making sense of quantitative information in the policy sphere. The course begins by introducing the theory and practice of policy analysis. The stages of the public policy process and methods for structuring policy inquiry are introduced to provide a means for deconstructing policy problems and asking relevant and practical questions in a policy context.

Next the class is introduced to how such questions are addressed using quantitative tools. Topics to be covered include sampling, estimation, hypothesis testing, analysis of variance, and regression techniques. This will basically be a primer on applying inferential statistics to policy problems. The course will also include introductory training in the use of innovative statistical software, as well as Excel statistical functions.

Terms Taught

Spring 2023 - MIIS, Spring 2024 - MIIS

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Course Description

The timeliness of the topic at the national and global scale, is only matched by its political, economic and social relevance. The sustainability of urban areas is assailed by a combination of threats never seen before. At a time when—for the 1st time in history—more than 50% of humans reside in cities, those looming threats demand multidisciplinary approaches both to understand them better and to provide sensible solutions that mitigate the negative effects while amplifying the potential benefits. This class addresses those dimensions (economic, social, environmental, and political) as well as their interactions; it offers a framework under which the potential or already observed impacts are quantified and analyzed; and it surveys the policies implemented around the world. Although there are no explicit pre-requisites, students are expected to have a cursory understanding of economics and basic analytics.

Terms Taught

Spring 2022 - MIIS, MIIS First Half of Term, Spring 2023 - MIIS, Spring 2024 - MIIS

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Course Description

Is global inequality increasing or decreasing? Experts differ on the right answer to that straightforward question. In this course, students will explore various concepts of economic inequality, including a consideration of measurement and data issues. The course will review key theories of the relationship between economic inequality and economic development, including the causes and consequences of inequality levels. For Spring 2022, the course will devote considerable space to the mutual impacts of inequality and COVID-19. Student’s work will include group projects, written and oral communication, and reading of a variety of technical and non-technical texts. The course, which satisfies either of the Development Paradigms or the Economics requirement, will be offered in-person and will be accessible to online learners.

Terms Taught

Fall 2023 - MIIS

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Course Description

The course will explore the principles, evolution and professional practice of public relations with an emphasis on crisis communications. We will do so with a specific examination of the strategies, concepts and tools used to execute an effective public relations campaign or initiative. In addition, we will assess how to and counter harmful events or actions to a company's brand. The class do so with heavy emphasis on student participation and student interaction.

Terms Taught

Spring 2024 - MIIS

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Areas of Interest

Economic Development. Regional Economics. Spatial Statistics & Econometrics. Purpose specific programming languages & modeling software. Mitigation of climate change impacts.

Academic Degrees

  • PhD in Urban Planning/Regional Economics, University of California-Los Angeles
  • MA in Urban Planning/International Development, University of Kansas
  • Advanced Diploma in Architecture, National University of San Juan, Argentina

Professor DePaolis has been teaching at the Institute since 2001.

Publications

  • “The Washington Consensus: A Post Mortem” (with Robert McCleery), in Seiji Naya’s festschrift Forthcoming University of Hawaii Press.
  • “NAFTA and the Broader Impacts of Trade Agreements on Industrial Development: When ‘Second-Order Effects’ Dominate (with Robert McCleery), in Plummer, M. (editor) Empirical Methods in International Trade: Essays in Honor of Mordechai (Max) Keinin, 2005. Edward Elgar Publisher.
  • “Bangladesh: Searching for a Workable Development Path,” with Seiji Naya and Robert McCleery, Journal of East Asian Studies, No 3, December 2004:1-20.
  • “A New Frontier in 21st Century America.” A book review of Terra Incognita by Bowman, A. and Pagano, M. Public Organization Review 4 December 2004.
  • “Trade and the Location of Industries in the OECD and the European Union.” Journal of Economic Geography 2, 2002 (with Michael Storper and Yun-Chung Chen).

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