Director of FGV Social and founder of the Center for Social Policy (FGV Social/CPS) where he has been working since 2000. He teaches doctoral, master's and graduate programs at FGV's EPGE Brazilian School of Economics and Finance (EPGE). He was Chief Minister of the Secretariat for Strategic Affairs of the Presidency of the Republic (SAE) and President of the Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA).

He holds a PhD in economics from Princeton University, a master's and a bachelor's degree in economics from PUC-Rio. His main areas of research are social policies, income distribution and microeconometrics. Author of books on: Public Policy Planning; Microcredit; Social Security Coverage; Social Essays; Diversity; Overcoming Poverty in the Countryside; Bolsa Família (Family financial benefits from the government); Perceptions of Public Policies; Inflation and Consumption, and The New Middle Class (indicated for the Jabuti Prize).