Professor Parente earned his B.A. in mathematics from the College of the Holy Cross in 1984 and his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Minnesota in 1990. Since receiving his Ph.D., he has taught at Georgetown University, Northeastern University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Illinois. He is an affiliate of the Center for North and South Research (CRENoS) located at the University of Cagliari, as well as the Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Group based at the University of Chicago. He has served as an assistant editor for Economic Theory and is a member of the Society for Economic Dynamics.