Education
PhD Economics, University of Illinois
MA Economics, University of Illinois
BA Economics, State University of Sao Paulo at Campinas
Biography
Claudio was born and grew up in Brazil. After graduating from college, he came to the US for his graduate studies in economics at the University of Illinois. PhD in hand, Claudio went on to work for the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC, where he had extensive contact with policy-makers and government officials and worked on a diverse group of countries that included Brazil, Cyprus, Honduras, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Portugal, and Peru. As an IMF country economist, Claudio´s main functions were to analyze the sources of macroeconomic problems and think of the best policies to address them. He wrote various research papers and also delivered courses in macroeconomic theory and policies to government and Central Bank officials around the world.
Paiva's passion for teaching and desire to help students change their lives for the better after graduation (success one can measure and believe in) brought him back to academic life. Ok, he was also fed up with cold weather and figured one couldn't go wrong moving to CA. Asked about it today, he demurs: "well... it's complicated"
After developing some 10 courses for the Business and Econ programs at CI; publishing and presenting his research at international conferences; going back to teach six courses for the IMF in DC, Lisbon, and Vienna; and receiving tenure and promotion to full professor, Paiva (that's how his students insist in calling him even after they graduate and remain friends) relaxed a little and, next thing he knew, was pushed into the role of program chair.
His favorite achievements during time in the chair is to have facilitated the hiring and promotion of a stellar group of faculty who comprise "Team Econ." Despite extensive whining by students about how hard Team Econ makes them work (Paiva says you know who you are), it all works in their favor afterword: recent data from the US Department of Education show that a typical Econ alum earns over 70 percent more than the typical CI alum, and clearly more than the typical Econ graduate nationwide.
In fact, Paiva complains that former students who earn more than he does come to town, meet for dinner, and don't pick up the tab (he says you too know who you are). While this oversight can be easily fixed (he winks), Paiva is seriously thankful for the hardworking and successful students who provide the undisputable evidence that it was all worth it (yeah, you know who you are).
Fun Facts: In the US, Claudio won over 50 volleyball tournaments as a player and/or coach; he led Illinois Men's Club to a #2 national ranking and a Top 16 finish in an open international tournament with 100 teams.
Representative Courses Taught
- Macroeconomics
- International Economics
- Development Economics
Scholarship
Keywords
Monetary & Macroeconomic Policies, Equilibrium exchange rates and external sustainability, Applied and Empirical studies, Econ Development