Hugo J. Faria is a Lecturer in the Economics department of the University of Miami and a Professor at Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración in Caracas, Venezuela. Mr. Faria received his Ph.D. in Finance from the University of South Carolina concluding course requirements for a Ph.D. in Economics as well. He also received an M.P.P. from the University of Chicago, and a B.A. in Economics from Universidad Catholica Andres Bello (UCAB) in Caracas, Venezuela. Some of Mr. Faria’s refereed scholarly articles address issues in capital structure, corporate governance and executive compensation, the interplay between complex regulations and corruption as well as the nexus between capitalist institutions and corruption. Lately, his research interest has been in the fields of comparative economic and political development, highlighting the critical role of institutional quality for sustained eco of Institutional Economics, and Econ Journal Watch, among others and has been editor of, and contributor to, several books examining policy and institutional topics in Venezuela: Para Rehacer a Venezuela (1998), El Encarecimiento Injusto (2006), and Misión Riqueza (2007). He is a co-author of Unbundling the Roles of Human Capital and Institutions in Economic Development, forthcoming in the European Journal of Political Economy. He has also has given expert testimony to Venezuela’s National Assembly. Mr Faria won a Fulbright scholarship, Best Teacher awards from Northeastern University and IESA, and has taught economics at Harvard. He has published in the op-ed section of the Wall Street Journal, and has been interviewed by CNN, Fox News, and the New York Times, among others.