Before joining the University of La Plata, he was an Economist in the Research Department of the World Bank. He has taught at Universidad and Instituto Di Tella in Argentina and at the University of Maryland as an invited lecturer. Porto received a BA in Economics from the University of La Plata in Argentina, a Master in Economics from Instituto Di Tella in Argentina, and a PhD in Economics from Princeton University. His research focuses on the econometric estimation of the impacts of trade policies in developing countries, including impacts on poverty, household welfare, wages and the distribution of income as well as on firm behavior. His latest work investigates how economic agents (households and firms) adjust to trade reform.