UNITED NATIONS, June 6 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday appointed Luis F. Lopez-Calva of Mexico as director of Regional Bureau for Latin America and Caribbean at United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Lopez-Calva succeeds Jessica Faieta of Ecuador to take this office. Guterres expressed gratitude for Faieta's dedication and commitment to the organization during her term with UNDP.

Lopez-Calva is currently the practice manager of the Poverty and Equity Global Practice (Europe and Central Asia) at the World Bank. He was previously lead economist and regional poverty advisor in the Bank's Europe and Central Asia Region.

From 2007 to 2010, he served as chief economist for Latin America and the Caribbean at UNDP in New York.

He has also been president of the Network on Inequality and Poverty in the Latin America and Caribbean Economic Association.

His research interests focus on labor markets, poverty and inequality, institutions and microeconomics of development.

He holds a master's degree in economics from Boston University, as well as a master's and a PhD in economics from Cornell University.