Lizeth Melissa Molina Alvarez is a PhD scholar at UNU-MERIT. She holds a Master's degree in Economics and a double Bachelor's degree in Economics and Political Science from the Universidad de los Andes in Colombia. During that time, she worked as a research assistant at the university and at the Central Bank of Colombia on issues related to conflict, poverty and inequalities in rural areas.  Before joining the PhD, Lizeth Melissa has worked mainly in the public sector. Particularly, in the Planning Department and the Department for Prosperity of Colombian Government in topics related to regional development and strategies for overcoming poverty. She has also supported the evaluation of development programs financed with public and international cooperation resources, such as USAID.  At the same time, she has been involved on research projects related to employment and public services gaps in Latin America.