Featured economist, June 2022

Juanita Gonzalez-Uribe

Juanita Gonzalez-Uribe is an Associate Professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Her research focuses on entrepreneurship, innovation, and private equity.

Juanita Gonzalez-Uribe is an Associate Professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Her research focuses on entrepreneurship, innovation, and private equity. Her work in these areas has been published in top academic journals including the Review of Financial Studies, and the Journal of Financial Economics. Her work has won several prizes including the Jaime Fernandez de Araoz Prize for Best Paper in Corporate Finance, the Coller Prize Award, and the Kauffman Dissertation Award. She has also won several research grants including the NBER Innovation Policy Grant and the NBER Entrepreneurship Grant. Juanita earned a PhD in Finance and Economics from Columbia University, and, a Master in Economics and a Bachelor in Economics and Mathematics from Universida de de los Andes (Colombia). Prior to her PhD studies, Juanita worked as a junior researcher at the Central Bank of Colombia.

Follow Juanita on:

Website

Follow Juanita on:

Website

Juanita Gonzalez-Uribe is an Associate Professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Her research focuses on entrepreneurship, innovation, and private equity. Her work in these areas has been published in top academic journals including the Review of Financial Studies, and the Journal of Financial Economics. Her work has won several prizes including the Jaime Fernandez de Araoz Prize for Best Paper in Corporate Finance, the Coller Prize Award, and the Kauffman Dissertation Award. She has also won several research grants including the NBER Innovation Policy Grant and the NBER Entrepreneurship Grant. Juanita earned a PhD in Finance and Economics from Columbia University, and, a Master in Economics and a Bachelor in Economics and Mathematics from Universida de de los Andes (Colombia). Prior to her PhD studies, Juanita worked as a junior researcher at the Central Bank of Colombia.

In their own words…

IEA: Can you tell us what made you pursue a career in economics?

Juanita: Equal parts luck and interest! After graduating from high school, I had to select a major in my application to study at my alma mater, Universidad de los Andes (Colombia). I had always loved learning math and literature at school, but my parents thought I should major in an area they thought would have a broader range of job options. Economics was the compromise, but it ended up being my passion! It led me to New York, where I had always dreamed of living, for my graduate finance and economics studies at Columbia University. Today, I live in London, where I continue to study these areas at the London School of Economics. So, in a way, I combined the subjects that I loved learning as a young woman in Colombia into a globe-trotting career I love!

IEA: A lot of your research focuses on understanding entrepreneurship and firm growth. Can you tell us briefly what you have learned from this work on the kind of ecosystems that are most conducive to firm dynamism?

Juanita: A critical insight from my research is that capability gaps constitute a significant growth obstacle for businesses, especially in developing countries. Some entrepreneurs cannot transform their ideas into sustainable companies because they lack sufficient capabilities, for example, business know-how. This growth obstacle has become more prevalent in recent decades as the substantial decline in the costs of developing new technologies has attracted more inexperienced entrepreneurs to start businesses. Business accelerators and seed funds have emerged to systemize these entrepreneurs’ screening, training, and sometimes funding. They play an essential role in ecosystems by filtering and supporting the most promising candidates before these entrepreneurs seek more specialized financing like traditional venture capital.

IEA: Governments pursue a wide range of policies to nurture young, smaller firms. What are some policies that work? Those that do not work?

Juanita: An important lesson from my work on business accelerators is that bundling capability training with funding can be more impactful for business growth than simply providing entrepreneurs with cash. This lesson is consistent with the evidence on training micro-entrepreneurs in settings other than accelerators. Another important lesson, however, is that not all young and small firms benefit equally from capability-building. My research shows that capability-building can help promising businesses reach their high-growth potential but cannot transform low-potential ideas into “gazelles” (i.e., a common moniker for fast-growing companies).

IEA: Researchers from developing countries sometimes face serious obstacles in accessing research networks in advanced countries. Would you have some advice for younger scholars?

Juanita: My main advice for younger scholars is not to be afraid to contact researchers abroad for advice but to be mindful of email lengths! Communication across countries has never been more accessible. A silver lining of the pandemic is that many researchers are now very well versed in online communication tools like Zoom or Teams. I am always open to short calls to meet researchers and discuss their ideas. Informal conversations are powerful tools, especially between people long distances apart, mainly because they bridge information gaps. However, avoid contacting researchers with overly long emails. I have to admit I am much less responsive to those!