PADP is kicking off International Education Week by celebrating some of our International Students!

Meet Miguel Antonio Estrada:

Miguel is a PhD student who is interested in the nexus between public policy and health behavior. He comes from the Philippines – an archipelago with more than 7,000 islands in Southeast Asia. As an international student, meeting people, discovering places, and learning about different cultures are a huge part of his UGA experience.

Prior to entering the PhD program, much of Miguel’s work dealt with smoking and public finance. In previous studies, he and his collaborators tried to better understand the broad implications of tobacco taxes on smoking consumption and revenues in the Philippines, as well as specific implications in terms of different responses to policy by different groups. This line of work was prompted by the landmark Sin Tax Reform Law of 2012, which substantially increased taxes to curb smoking and raise revenues for universal health care in a country with one of the highest burdens of smoking in Southeast Asia. Miguel also had prior experience in the areas of fiscal policy, national budgeting, and public debt.

Being in the PhD program at UGA is a great opportunity to develop and learn, especially from distinguished scholars. Miguel expands the scope of his work to policies related to substance use and soda taxes. At the same time, he is learning about the US federal system which is significantly different from the Philippines’ centralized system. Miguel brings his perspective from years of working at the Philippine National Institutes of Health, the World Health Organization, and the Philippine House of Representatives. He deems engaging with professors, colleagues, and friends as a valuable opportunity to create meaningful relationships and enrich his personal and professional experience.