Nicole Cerpa Vielma

Dr Nicole Cerpa Vielma is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Global Studies at UCSB.
Assistant Professor

Specialization

Fields: Heterodox Political Economy; Financialization; Money and Banking; Financial Markets and Institutions; Post-Keynesian Economics; Dependency Theory; Mixed-Methods 

Areas of Expertise: International Financial Subordination; Latin American Economies; Cross-Border Capital Flows; Pension Funds; Green Finance; Feminist Economics; International Monetary System; Hierarchies in Global Finance; Social Network Analysis; Interviews; Methodology

Education

2023 PhD Economics, University of Leeds

2017 MSc Economics, University of Leeds

2013 MSc Economics and Public Policies, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez

2012 BSc Economics, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez

Bio

I am a pluralist macro-financial and development economist. I earned my Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Leeds in 2023, where my thesis was awarded the prestigious Dean’s Prize for academic excellence within my cohort. My research focuses on the political economy of money, banking, and global finance, with a particular emphasis on the phenomenon of ‘subordinate financialization’ in Latin American economies. My scholarly contributions have been published in peer-reviewed journals such as the Cambridge Journal of Economics, as well as in co-edited books. Additionally, my research has garnered support from esteemed institutions including the Max Planck Institute, Leeds University Business School, and Chile’s National Agency for Science (ANID). Currently, I am engaged in a collaborative research project on green finance with the Universidad Diego Portales and the Max Planck Institute.

Research

My research critically examines the historical globalization of finance, delving into its drivers, manifestations, and implications on Latin American economies. I analyze this phenomenon as it unfolds from a subordinate position for these economies. My understanding and analysis of these complex phenomena are multi-layered, historical, institutional, interdisciplinary, open, and differentiated. This approach involves engaging with multiple theoretical perspectives and methodologies to uncover underlying causal mechanisms, provide in-depth explanations, and analyze the relations and structures that underlie social phenomena. 

In my work, I have used innovative mixed-method studies, which combine qualitative methods, such as semi-structured interviews, with quantitative data analysis, including social network analysis, descriptive statistics, and econometrics. Theoretically, my understanding of economics is rooted in pluralist economic theories and heterodox political economy, with a particular focus on post-Keynesian monetary theory, Latin American structuralism, and Marxian political economy. I am also highly interested in deepening connections with other fields, such as economic geography, international political economy, and feminist economics. 

Projects

2024 Public Voices Fellowship, The Op-Ed Project
 
2023-28 Co-PI, Max Planck Partner Group, “on the politics of green growth in peripheral economies” (collaboration with Universidad Diego Portales)

Publications

Cerpa Vielma, N. 2023. Institutional Foundations of Subordinate Financialisation: Banking Transformation in Latin America (Doctoral dissertation, University of Leeds) - https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/32845/1/Cerpa%20Vielma_N_Economics_PhD_2022.pdf

Cerpa Vielma N. and Dymski G., 2022. A core-periphery framework for understanding the place of Latin America in the global architecture of finance. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 46(4), pp.629-650 - https://academic.oup.com/cje/article/46/4/629/6608759

Cerpa Vielma, N. and Magariaga, A. 2022. Hacia una nueva governanza macroeconomica para el desarrollo. In: Correa, F. and Madariaga, A. eds. Nueva estrategia de desarrollo para Chile. Santiago: Catalonia

Dymski, G. and Cerpa Vielma, N. 2022. Financial geography and the 'social reality of finance': aspatial or real analyses of financial crises?. Capital Movements and Corporate Dominance in Latin America: Reduced Growth and Increased Instability - https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=QWIzEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA9&dq=nicole+cerpa+vielma&ots=lg39T-VYx8&sig=HR5RiTe8V8o4RQHkc7w9Zttzcm0#v=onepage&q=nicole%20cerpa%20vielma&f=false

Cerpa Vielma N. et al., 2019. Too big to manage: US megabanks' competition by innovation and the microfoundations of financialization. Cambridge Journal of Economics. 43(4), pp.1103-1121 - https://academic.oup.com/cje/article-abstract/43/4/1103/5528348

Courses

Global 130: Global Economy and Development

Global 132: The Political Economy of Global Finance

Global 221: Global Political Economy, Development, and Environment

Global 2: Global Socioeconomic and Political Processes