Carlos Fernando Avenancio-Leon
Assistant Professor of Finance
University of California San Diego
Carlos Fernando Avenancio-León is an assistant professor of finance at the University of California San Diego and a nonresident scholar at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. He is an economist whose agenda focuses on how complex institutional structures mask or generate economic inequality.
In particular, his work addresses the relationship between political or financial institutions and economic redistribution, with special emphasis on its implications for disadvantaged communities. Avenancio-León received a Ph.D. in finance from the University of California, Berkeley and a J.D. from the University of Puerto Rico.
Funded Research
Authored by Carlos Fernando Avenancio-Leon
New research shows how U.S. homeownership and the accumulation of housing wealth are linked to political participation (opens in a new tab)
Essays AUG 14, 2026
By: Carlos Fernando Avenancio-Leon
Why federal food assistance became politically polarizing—and what to do about it (opens in a new tab)
Issue Briefs FEB 2, 2026
By: Carlos Fernando Avenancio-Leon
Strong unions push firms to reduce riskier debt, lowering risks of unemployment for U.S. workers (opens in a new tab)
Blog SEP 27, 2023
By: Carlos Fernando Avenancio-Leon, Alessio Piccolo, Roberto Pinto
Voting rights equal economic progress: The Voting Rights Act and U.S. economic inequality (opens in a new tab)
Issue Briefs OCT 16, 2020
By: Abhay Aneja, Carlos Fernando Avenancio-Leon
Misvaluations in local property tax assessments cause the tax burden to fall more heavily on Black, Latinx homeowners (opens in a new tab)
Blog JUN 10, 2020
By: Carlos Fernando Avenancio-Leon, Troup Howard
Media Mentions
Contributor: For an affordable housing future, expanding access isn’t enough (opens in a new tab)
In the News MAY 28, 2026
Opinion in:
Los Angeles Times
The Voting Rights Act Is Gutted — Black Workers Will Pay The Price (opens in a new tab)
In the News MAY 21, 2026
Media Mention in:
Forbes
Carlos Fernando Avenancio-Leon’s Working Papers
Housing Wealth Accumulation and Electoral Representation (opens in a new tab)
Working Papers AUG 14, 2026
By: Carlos F. Avenancio-León, Yutao He, Michael Reher
Dissecting Racial Politicization: Long-Run Evidence from the Food Stamp Program (opens in a new tab)
Working Papers FEB 2, 2026
By: Carlos F. Avenancio-León, Troup Howard, William Mullins
Resilience in Collective Bargaining (opens in a new tab)
Working Papers SEP 27, 2023
By: Carlos F. Avenancio-León, Alessio Piccolo, Roberto Pinto
The Effect of Political Power on Labor Market Inequality: Evidence from the 1965 Voting Rights Act (opens in a new tab)
Working Papers OCT 16, 2020
By: Abhay Aneja, Carlos Fernando Avenancio-León
The Assessment Gap: Racial Inequalities in Property Taxation (opens in a new tab)
Working Papers JUN 10, 2020
By: Carlos Avenancio-León, Troup Howard
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