Recent research:
Across multiple local governance contexts in Ecuador, the researcher integrates public administration, democratic participation, financial transparency, and social determinants to examine how budgeting, governance capacity, and social capital influence resource allocation, accountability, and development outcomes. The work analyzes budget allocation and execution in the Paute Canton and GAD Azuay (2020–2023), highlighting fluctuations, information gaps, and varying efficiency in budgeting and coding practices, while underscoring the need for strengthened planning and regulatory compliance. Building on participatory budgeting, the studies assess how citizen involvement, gender and vulnerable groups, and political will shape budgetary processes, transparency, and service delivery, with outcomes suggesting limited execution capacity yet potential for enhanced local development if participatory mechanisms are strengthened. The research also links social capital to credit risk in Ecuadorian microfinance settings, showing that governance-linked social capital reduces default probability and intensity, with pandemic-era shifts in application mobility, volunteering, and trust affecting lending dynamics. In the health/public health sphere, the work documents the substantial monetary and social costs of adolescent pregnancy in a rural Ecuadorian parish, emphasizing the political and social challenges faced by parish governments, families, and schools in pursuing inclusive youth development. Together, these publications portray a cohesive program that advances understanding of how regulation, citizen participation, and social networks interact with financial management and public health to shape local development outcomes in Latin America.

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• Governance, Law, Policy, Ethics & Regulation
• Business, Economics, SMEs, Finance & Entrepreneurship
• Social Sciences, Media, Political Communication & Disinformation
• Healthcare, Clinical Epidemiology & Public Health