After finishing his studies of Economics at the Universidad de Chile in 2006, Rodolfo worked for two years as a researcher of the INTELIS centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurial studies at the Department of Economics of the same institution. During this period he presented his working papers on several academic seminars and in June 2008 he published "Technological Innovation and Employment: Complements or Substitutes?" together with J.M. Benavente in The European Journal of Development Research  (vol 20, issue 2). In 2007 he was a teacher of Applied Econometrics at the Department of Engineering of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile.

His PhD research is focused on productivity and demand-supply interactions within the Chilean manufacturing industry.  One of the main aims of this research project is to measure competitivity across sectors and the factors that determine price volatility of different products in the context of the manufacturing industry. Another main part of this study is related to the measurement of the production function in a context in which demand may also be estimated.

Besides his PhD thesis Rodolfo is busy with research related to institutions and knowledge in the context of international violence. Looking closely at the industry of weapons, he is worried about weapons of mass destruction and the consequences of international knowledge diffusion in the context of this market.