CV

Research

I am an empirical macroeconomist studying how heterogeneity in beliefs, perceptions, and information processing shapes the transmission of macroeconomic policy. My research uses novel text-based measures, survey data, and high-frequency identification to examine how firms and households interpret macroeconomic policies and how differences in attention, perceived risk, and beliefs affect real economic decisions. More broadly, my research agenda seeks to make expectations and information processing directly measurable objects in macroeconomic analysis and to understand when and why otherwise similar policy actions generate different real outcomes.

Teaching

My teaching philosophy rests on the belief that economics is not a collection of models to memorize but a framework for making sense of the world. I want students to leave my courses with a way of thinking — one that helps them evaluate evidence, reason through trade-offs, and form disciplined judgments about complex questions. Because students arrive with different backgrounds, my role is to guide them as they turn curiosity into structured reasoning and the confidence to apply it independently. As a CIRTL Associate Fellow of the Academy for Future Faculty, I am committed to evidence-based, student-centered teaching. Please make sure to review the Macro Lab, an open, browser-based companion to Intermediate Macroeconomics where students experiment with the core models of the course and build intuition through hands-on simulation.

Macro Lab

Macro Lab is an open, interactive companion to Intermediate Macroeconomics (ECON 410) that I am building to help students move from passive reading to active experimentation with the core models of the course. Each section pairs a structured lab guide with a set of browser-based modules where students adjust parameters, observe dynamics, and develop intuition for the mechanics behind the math. The lab is a work in progress and is openly available — students and instructors are welcome to use and adapt the materials.

Lab Guides are provided in Word format and contain the worksheets that accompany each set of interactive modules. Additional sections will be added as the lab develops. For questions, suggestions, or to use these materials in your own class, please get in touch.

License. All Macro Lab materials are released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). You are free to use, adapt, and share these materials in your own classroom, with attribution. Suggested citation: Hirs-Garzón, J. (2026). Macro Lab: Interactive Modules for Intermediate Macroeconomics (ECON 410).

Policy Work

I work at the intersection of academic research and economic policymaking, producing analysis that informs fiscal and monetary policy debates in Latin America and beyond. My policy-oriented work — published primarily through the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) — focuses on fiscal rules, sovereign risk, public investment, and macrofiscal outcomes. I am a member of the Economics Research Network of the Colombian Central Bank.