Sonia Plaza
Sonia Plaza is a Senior Economist in the Development Economics Prospects Group at the World Bank. She has worked on science and technology projects in Latin American and coauthored a major analytical survey of migration and development for the Africa region.
Ms. Plaza advises many universities on the transfer of skills and tapping into their diasporas. She is a contributor to the book Africa’s Silk Road: China and India’s New Economic Frontier, which covers trade facilitation, technology and skills transfer, and regional trade agreements.
Ms. Plaza earned an economics degree from the University of Lima, after which she joined Chase Manhattan Bank, and was then invited to join the Peruvian Ministry of Trade. She also has a dual degree from Yale University and the University of Pennsylvania in international economics and development. She was Professor of Economics (international economics) at the Peruvian School of Foreign Service and at the University of Lima in Peru, and adjunct faculty at American University in Washington, DC. She joined the Institute for the Study of Labor as a Research Fellow in February 2010.
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Diasporas can play an important role in the economic development of their countries of origin or ancestry. Beyond their well-known role as senders of remittances, diasporas also can promote trade and foreign direct investment, create businesses, spur entrepreneurship, and transfer new knowledge and skills. Policymakers increasingly recognize that an engaged diaspora can be an asset — or even a counterweight to the emigration of skilled and talented migrants.