Lyonel Tanganco, a graduate student in MIT’s Master in Data, Economics, and Design of Policy (DEDP) program, works to link data, policy, and community interventions to improve living conditions in middle‑income countries. A native of the Philippines, Tanganco previously directed the Policy, Research, and Liaison Office at the Philippine Department of Finance, where he helped shape the COVID‑19 fiscal response, tax reforms, and health‑care financing. By raising taxes on cigarettes, vaping, and alcohol, the health‑care budget grew sixfold; he also advocated higher taxes on top earners while lowering them for lower‑income groups.
Together with colleagues he founded the Smart and Healthy Kids Coalition, designing a conditional cash‑transfer program that now reaches over 190,000 Filipino households. Families receive roughly $12 per month if they bring their children for monthly check‑ups, boosting health‑seeking behavior eightfold. Despite these successes, Tanganco saw gaps in knowledge and implementation, prompting him to enroll in DEDP for a systematic blend of theory and practice.
At DEDP, he collaborates with J‑PAL and economist Benjamin Olken on a randomized tax‑intervention evaluation in Indonesia, aiming to raise revenue in simple, effective, and fair ways to improve public service delivery. Tanganco’s central question is how to make economic growth broad‑based and inclusive, especially in middle‑income nations where poverty, malnutrition, and climate impacts remain acute. In the Philippines, one‑in‑four children are malnourished, leading to reduced brain development, poorer school performance, and a higher likelihood of remaining in poverty. Typhoons and extreme heat also cause the loss of more than ten percent of school days each year, disrupting education and economic progress.
MIT’s interdisciplinary environment has sharpened his research toolkit. Courses co‑taught by Olken and Jacob Moscona exposed him to rigorous environmental economics, while informal discussions with peers from Harvard and other institutions broadened his perspective. He likens MIT’s collaborative spirit to Uncle Iroh from Avatar: The Last Airbender, who advises drawing wisdom from many sources.
Tanganco urges doctors, nutritionists, community health workers, and economists to partner and translate field expertise into quantifiable metrics that policymakers can understand. He credits the DEDP program for providing a solid foundation to make measurable, positive differences in people’s lives.
Blogger's Review: Tanganco’s journey illustrates a virtuous loop between academia and practice—government tax reforms, community health programs, and cross‑national randomized trials—all driven by data and evidence. For middle‑income countries, aligning economic growth with precise, evidence‑based policies is essential to turn prosperity into real improvements in human well‑being.