Nicole Cerpa Vielma

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

Office Location

SSMS 2131

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

I am an economist with training from both the UK and Chile. In 2023, I received my PhD in Economics from the University of Leeds. I also hold an MSc in Economics from the same university. My academic journey began with an undergraduate degree in Economics and an MSc in Economics and Public Policies from the Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez. 

Bio

I am a pluralist macro-financial and development economist interested in the political economy of money, banking, finance, and the variegated manifestations of financialization in developing and emerging economies. My research agenda attempts to contribute to the emerging but growing interest in defining and evidencing what financialization means for developing and emerging economies, particularly Latin America. I am drawn to how finance has turned into a hierarchical and globalized market-based system centered on US dominance, as embodied in the strength of the US dollar, and how this financial globalization has shaped and transformed developing and emerging economies' agency at the micro, meso, macro, and political levels. 

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. 

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