Antonella Fazio
My name is Antonella Fazio. I am Italian and Colombian. I have lived in Spain for five years, working as a researcher at IE Business School and, more recently, as an adjunct professor at IE University. I am an economist and an economic historian, with a special interest in empirical methods and quantitative methods.
In my free time, I love running, traveling, going out with friends and spending time with my family. I also enjoy attending art classes: after teaching for the whole week, I like being a student!
“What is amazing about research is that you are always learning something new, pushing you to acquire new skills.”
A passion for research, teaching and travel
Antonella Fazio has a long-standing fascination with economics. Coming from Colombia, which is often seen as an “underdeveloped” country, motivated her to understand why some countries succeed economically while others fail. With a bachelor’s and master’s degree in economics already under her belt, she made the unusual choice of undertaking a PhD in history and civilization at the European University Institute, focusing on economic history. “I saw in history an excellent complement to understanding the differential development between countries,” she explains, adding that an awareness of historical context has also given her a greater appreciation of topics related to social and political economy.
Before joining the faculty of IE University, Antonella worked for the European Parliament within the Robert Schuman traineeship program. Her other roles have included working as economic advisor at the City Council of Bogotá and for an EU legal consultancy based in Brussels. She has also been a postdoctoral researcher in economics at the Universidad de los Andes and the Université Catholique de Louvain, and has worked as a teacher of economics.
Her day-to-day life at IE University combines her role as an adjunct professor for the Bachelor in Economics—teaching Foundations of Microeconomics, Economic History and Research Methods—with her research activity.
Currently, Antonella is working on a project analyzing the dynamics and effects of illegal pharma markets on consumers and the pharma industry, which has not only enabled her to acquire knowledge of pharmacy, but also given her the opportunity to develop new technical skills, including data science. Working on this project has made her realize that she loves constantly learning—a passion which carries over into her teaching. “I love that every course is a different experience despite the topic being the same,” she says, emphasizing that she learns from her students, which is what makes teaching so enjoyable.
Another factor which motivates Antonella is being able to make an impact in the lives of her students, which can last beyond the classroom and into their future careers. A professor, she says, needs to stimulate the student’s curiosity so that they’re motivated to learn independently, with autonomy and persistence. This in turn teaches students the importance of learning from their mistakes.
While Antonella jokes that teaching has improved her fitness skills—she is constantly running between teaching sessions and jokes that she feels like the character Ross from the sitcom Friends—running is, in fact, another of her passions. However, she also enjoys spending time with friends, having dinner or relaxing in a spa. She’s also a keen traveler, having visited Italy, England and Colombia in the past year, as well as exploring different regions of Spain. Ecotourism also appeals to her: she was particularly impressed by her visits to the Amazon and Patagonia, experiences which made her aware of “nature’s immensity and ineffability” and led her to reconsider the relationship we should establish with nature.
Although her varied career has taken Antonella to a number of different countries and spanned both the public and private sectors, she is enjoying her return to academia and her teaching role at IE University. Her past experiences, she says, have strengthened her understanding of “all the theoretical concepts that can be applied to the real world” and have helped her to become a better researcher and professor.
Check out in detail Antonella Fazio's academic and corporate experience
