Davi Augusto Oliveira Pinto's career in Brazil's foreign service took him all over the world. His work as a diplomat for more than two decades exposed him to the realities of life for all kinds of people, which informed his interest in economics and public policy.
Oliveira Pinto is now focused on strengthening his diplomatic work through his MIT education. He completed the MITx MicroMasters program in Data, Economics, and Design of Policy (DEDP), which is jointly administered by MIT Open Learning and the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), and then applied and was accepted to the DEDP master's program within MIT's Department of Economics .
"I think governments should be able to provide data-driven, research-supported services to their constituents," he says. "Returning to my role as a diplomat, I hope to use the tools I acquired in the DEDP program to enhance my contributions as a public servant."
Oliveira Pinto was one of Brazil's representatives to the World Trade Organization (WTO), helped Brazilian citizens and companies abroad, and worked to improve relationships with governments in South Africa, Argentina, Italy, Spain, and Uruguay. He observed firsthand how economic disparities could influence laws and lives. He believes in a nonpartisan approach to public service, producing and sharing policy based on peer-reviewed data and research that can help as many people as possible.
"We need public policy informed by evidence and science, rather than by politics and ideology," he says. "My experience at MIT reinforced my conviction that diplomacy should be used to gather people from different backgrounds and develop joint solutions to our collective challenges."
As someone responsible for dealing with international trade issues and who understands the potential negative, far-reaching impacts of poorly researched and instituted policies, Oliveira Pinto saw MIT and its world-class economics programs as potentially world-altering tools to help him advance his work.
Advocacy and economics
Growing up in Minas Gerais, Brazil, Oliveira Pinto learned about the country's past of economic cycles driven by exporting commodities like minerals and coffee. He also witnessed what he described as Brazil's "eternal state of development," one in which broad swaths of the population suffered, and very soon became aware of the impact that issues like inflation and unemployment had on the country.
"I thought studying economics could help solve issues I observed when growing up," he says.
Oliveira Pinto earned an undergraduate degree in economics from Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais and a master's degree in public policy from Escola Nacional de Administração Pública .
Oliveira Pinto's personal experiences and his commitment to understanding and improving the lives of his fellow Brazilians led him to enroll in the Instituto Rio Branco , Brazil's diplomatic academy, where he was trained in a variety of disciplines. "I was drawn to investigate inequality between countries, which led to my diplomatic career," he says. "I worked to help Brazilian migrants abroad, promoted Brazilian companies' exports, represented Brazil at the WTO, and helped pandemic-era assistance efforts for people in Brazil's poor border towns."
During the pandemic, Oliveira Pinto found himself drawn to the DEDP MicroMasters program. He was able to review foundational economics concepts, improve his ability to synthesize and interpret data, and refine his analytical skills. "My favorite course, Data Analysis for Social Scientists , reinforced the critical importance of interpreting data correctly in a world where information is increasingly abundant," he recalls.
The online program also offered an opportunity for him to apply to study in person. Now at MIT, Oliveira Pinto is finishing his degree with a capstone project focused on how J-PAL works with governments to support the scaling of evidence-informed policies.
J-PAL's research center and network have built long-term partnerships with government agencies around the world to generate evidence from randomized evaluations and incorporate the findings into policy decisions. They work closely with policymakers to inform anti-poverty programs to improve their effectiveness, an area of particular interest to the Brazilian diplomat.
"I'm trying to understand how J-PAL's partnerships in these places are working, any lessons we can learn from successes, challenges faced, and how we can most effectively scale the successful programs," he says.
Inside and beyond MIT
Oliveira Pinto was welcomed into a thriving, diverse community in Cambridge, a journey that was both edifying and challenging. "My family and I found a home," he notes, observing that many Brazilians live in the area, "and it's sobering to see so many people from my country working hard to build their lives in the U.S."
Oliveira Pinto says working closely with members of the MIT community was one of the DEDP master's program's big draws. "The ability to forge connections with students and faculty while learning from Nobel laureates and accomplished researchers and practitioners is amazing," he says. Collaborating with people from a variety of professional, experiential, and backgrounds, he notes, was especially satisfying.
Oliveira Pinto offered special praise for MIT's support for his family, describing it as "particularly rewarding." "MIT offers so many different activities for families," he says. "My wife and three daughters benefited from the support the Institute provides." While taking advantage of his time in the States to visit Canada and Washington, D.C., they also made the most of their time in Cambridge. The family enjoyed sailing, swimming, yoga, sports, pottery, lectures, and more while Davi pursued his studies. "The facilities are awesome," he continues.
Assessing and quantifying impact
Oliveira Pinto's investigations have yielded some fascinating findings. "Data can be misused," he notes. "I learned how easily data can tell all kinds of stories, so it's important to be careful and rigorous when assessing different claims." He recalls how, during an econometrics class, he learned about parties on opposite sides of a health insurance divide pursuing radically different ends using the same data, each side promoting different views.
Oliveira Pinto believes his studies have improved his abilities as a diplomat, one of the reasons he's excited about his eventual return to the public service. "I'll return to government service armed with the skills the DEDP program and the research conducted during my capstone project have provided," he says. "My job as a diplomat is to seek opportunities to connect with different people, investigate carefully, and find common ground," work for which his DEDP MicroMasters and master's studies have helped prepare him.
Completing his capstone, Oliveira Pinto hopes to draw lessons from J-PAL's work with governments to improve constituents' quality of life. He's helping generate case studies that may foster future collaborations between researchers and the public sector.
"Work like this can be a good opportunity for governments interested in a research-supported, data-driven approach to policymaking," he says.
