He received his PhD in economics from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). From 1991 to 2003, he was on the faculty at the Federal University of Rio Grande (FURG), and during the 1995-1996 Academic Year he was a visiting scholar at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is a member of the Editorial Board of journals Cadernos EBAPE, BR (FGV) and Analise Economica (UFRGS). His research focuses on economic history with an emphasis on the role of institutions in Brazil's economic growth. He is currently a visiting scholar at the University of California-Los Angeles.