Nelson envisions a career dedicated to evidence-based policymaking, mentorship, and cross-country collaboration—working toward education systems where quality is a right, not a privilege.

Nelson Oviedo is pursuing a PhD in economics at the U-M Ann Arbor, where he studies quality and competition in education markets. Nelson’s dissertation examines how higher education regulations, such as the U.S. Gainful Employment Rule, affect the quality of education received by students across income groups. While empirically centered on the U.S., Nelson’s work is motivated by his own experiences growing up in Peru, where profit-driven incentives in education often exacerbate inequality.

As a first-generation college student born and raised in Callao, Peru, Nelson grew up in a household that prioritized education despite limited means. Nelson’s parents, a taxi driver and a clerical worker, devoted their resources to ensuring he could access the best education possible. Their sacrifices inspired him to pursue higher learning, earning both his bachelors and masters degrees from Universidad del Pacífico in Lima, where he graduated on the Dean’s List. He later worked as a Research Fellow at the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, DC, an experience that deepened his commitment to policy-relevant research.

Nelson’s work has been recognized with the Sarri Family Fellowship from the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research, awarded for his research on the educational attainment of children in low-income families. Nelson actively builds collaborations across the U.S. and Latin America, advancing the intersection of Industrial Organization and the Economics of Education.

Beyond academia, Nelson is the proud parent of a four-year-old daughter, Aurelia, and is expecting his second child. Balancing family and scholarship, he envisions a career dedicated to evidence-based policymaking, mentorship, and cross-country collaboration—working toward education systems where quality is a right, not a privilege.

CEW+ recognizes Nelson’s important work in economics and equitable education and names him the AAUW Booksale Scholar.