Ignacio Apella is an Economist for Social Protection at the World Bank, and has worked on social protection, pension policy and health economics in many Latin America countries. He graduated as an Economist from the University of Buenos Aires and went on to receive a MA on Economics from the University of Buenos Aires. Before joining the World Bank, he was a researcher at the Center for the Study of State and Society (CEDES) and he was Vice Director at the Department of Economic at the University of Buenos Aires. He is author of many studies on social security and pension, health economics and industrial organization in the private pension funds. Recently he published a book on expanding old age income protection coverage in fourteen Latin American countries. He is professor of Microeconomic at the University of Buenos Aires.