Addressing complex social problems with intertwined causes requires balancing funding, program design, and political will. Lyonel Tanganco, a graduate of MIT’s Data, Economics, and Design of Policy (DEDP) program, connects data, policy, and community interventions to improve living conditions in middle‑income countries. A native of the Philippines, he previously led the Policy, Research, and Liaison Office at the Philippine Department of Finance, where he helped raise taxes on cigarettes, vaping, and alcohol, expanding the health‑care budget sixfold, and advocated for higher taxes on top earners while lowering them for others. He later co‑founded the Smart and Healthy Kids Coalition, collaborating with the government to launch a conditional cash transfer that provides about $12 per month to over 190,000 households if children attend regular check‑ups, boosting health‑seeking behavior eightfold.
MIT’s DEDP, jointly run by the Economics Department and J‑PAL, emphasizes evidence‑based policy through randomized impact evaluations. This summer Tanganco worked in Indonesia with J‑PAL professor Benjamin Olken on a randomized tax‑intervention study aimed at improving local tax administration.
He describes middle‑income countries as living in two contradictory worlds: gleaming skylines beside underserved neighborhoods, affluent pockets beside persistent poverty, world‑class hospitals beside children lacking basic care. In the Philippines, one in four children is malnourished, leading to smaller brains, poorer school performance, and a higher likelihood of remaining in poverty; climate‑related disruptions also cause the loss of more than ten percent of school days. Tanganco argues that fair, simple tax tools and interdisciplinary collaboration are essential to turn economic growth into better human outcomes.
Outside the classroom, he explored Greater Boston with his wife, a Harvard graduate student, and fellow DEDP peers, sharing hopes and challenges from their home countries. He likens MIT’s interdisciplinary approach to Uncle Iroh from Avatar: The Last Airbender, urging the drawing of wisdom from many elements. Tanganco encourages doctors, nutritionists, and community health workers to partner with economists and researchers, translating practice into quantifiable metrics for policymakers.
He concludes that the DEDP program has been game‑changing, providing a solid foundation for understanding the world and making a measurable, positive difference—especially for the least fortunate.
Review