Francisca García-Cobián Richter, PhD

Francisca García-Cobián Richter is a Research Associate Professor at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University.

She earned an undergraduate degree in statistics from the Universidad Católica del Perú (1994). Her M.S. in statistics (1997) and Ph.D. in agricultural economics (2000) are both from Oklahoma State University. Prior to coming to CWRU, she was a Research Economist in Community Development at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.

Dr. Richter’s research focuses on the analysis of social interventions and the environments in which they operate. Her recent work includes estimating the effects of housing and neighborhood quality on children’s academic outcomes, evaluating a pay-for-success intervention targeted to families in the child welfare system facing housing instability, and assessing the economic cost of childhood exposure to domestic violence.

Dr. Richter is also associate director of the Math Corps Cleveland, a community-oriented academic enrichment and mentoring program for area middle and high-school students.

Biosketch
Curriculum Vitae
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Why I Teach

Given the growing use of data technologies in social welfare decision-making, it’s crucial to empower students to influence their development for social good. This doesn’t require students to become data scientists, but to critically examine the assumptions and biases embedded in the (meta)data and models used to aid decision-making in social welfare, making sure technologies are informed by the experiences of those represented in the data. This class (SASS471) is offered as an elective for all post-baccalaureate students, with the option to attain the Certificate in Data Science for Social Impact, offered in collaboration with the Case School of Engineering.  

Why I Chose this Profession

Growing up in Lima, Peru, I saw grassroots organizations, like women-led soup kitchens, stand bravely against poverty, discrimination, terrorism, and a weak social safety net. This sparked my interest in economics to fight poverty and challenge the narratives that fuel discrimination against the least powerful in seemingly all societies. At the Poverty Center, we work with colleagues across various colleges to leverage integrated administrative data systems (IDS) and community knowledge to inform social programs. Our ethical approach to data analytics aims to address discrimination bias in IDS and incorporate historical, contextual, and community knowledge to promote social good and equity.