Laura Alfaro is the Warren Alpert Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, where she has been faculty since 1999. She served as Minister of National Planning and Economic Policy in Costa Rica from 2010-2012, during which she took a leave from teaching. Her academic contributions include serving as Co-Editor of the Journal of International Economics and the World Bank Research Observer. Moreover, she is the Vice-President of the Latin American and Caribbean Economist Association and holds roles in various economic and research committees including the NBER International Finance and Macroeconomics Program. Alfaro's research primarily focuses on international capital flows, foreign direct investment, sovereign debt, trade, and emerging markets, contributing valuable insights through numerous articles published in prestigious journals like the American Economic Review and the Journal of Political Economy. She has a Ph.D. in Economics from UCLA and has taught in various programs at HBS, including MBA and doctoral courses.