Alí R. Bustamante, Ph.D.

Professional experience includes serving as director of the Roosevelt Institute's Worker Power and Economic Security program, chief economist at the Louisiana Workforce Commission (Department of Labor), senior research associate for the Southern Economic Advancement Project (SEAP), principal at Impact Econ Research, and as a senior research affiliate with the Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy (RISEP) at Florida International University.

I have served as faculty at the University of New Orleans Department of Economics and Finance, the Florida International University Green School of International and Public Affairs Department of Economics and the Center for Labor Research and Studies, the Loyola University New Orleans Jesuit Social Research Institute, and at the Miami Dade College School of Business.

My research examines how government can shape markets to deliver broad-based growth. Focusing on labor markets and place-based development, I analyze how public investments and regulatory frameworks affect job quality, access to opportunity, and regional inequality. I treat economic insecurity as a structural problem - rooted in weak labor standards, fragmented training systems, and poorly coordinated investment - rather than a failure of individual workers. My work translates these insights into policy designs that raise wages, expand access to good jobs, and rebuild confidence that economic growth can serve the many, not the few.

I write regularly for Barron's and my research and analysis has been featured on The New York Times, USA Today, NPR, CNN, Forbes,  Christian Science Monitor, Charities USA, Miami Herald, and other media outlets.