Prior to this, he was a senior economist with UNICEF’s Policy and Practice Group in New York. His research background includes work with the UN Development Programme’s Office of Development Studies, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), and several non-governmental organizations in Manila. Ron obtained his Masters in Public Administration and International Development (MPA-ID) from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from Fordham University.