Irina España-Eljaiek is Assistant Professor at Universidad Nacional, Bogotá, Colombia. She holds a doctoral degree in economics and social sciences from the University of Cologne and the International Max Planck Research School, both in Germany. Her research interests include institutional theory, economic history, regional development, racial exclusion, education, and research methods. She specifically studies the effects of historical institutions on subnational socioeconomic development in Latin America, combining mixed method approaches and social science disciplines.