Izaura Solipa
Biography
Izaura Solipa is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Watson School of International and Public Affairs. Izaura received her PhD in Economics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Her research focuses on the political economy of finance and power, with particular attention to elite structures, regulatory dynamics, and market innovations. She examines how influence is consolidated and exercised through both formal and informal institutions.
Izaura has been a research assistant at the Political Economy Research Institute at UMass Amherst since 2019, where she studies the political economy of the U.S. financial system, and is currently affiliated with the World Elite Database (WED) project, systematically assessing elites around the world and within the U.S. team. Her academic work builds on prior professional experience as a Banking Supervisor at the Portuguese Central Bank and as an Economic Advisor in the Portuguese Parliament, linking practical regulatory and policy expertise with research on financial power and elite structures.
Research
Izaura's research focuses on the channels of power accumulation available to finance, financial elites and elites more broadly. She is currently contributing to World Elite Database projects, on elite reproduction, selection, and ideology, and is developing a new project assessing the contemporary impacts of too much finance.
Across her projects, Izaura has employed a range of quantitative methods, including econometrics, social network analysis and machine learning algorithms, alongside extensive data management and analysis skills. Her research expertise and areas of interest include the political economy of finance, banking regulations, financial elites and the broader dynamics of elite power and reproduction.
Publications
Mortágua, M., & Solipa, I. (2022). Reviving financial markets–a critical assessment of the single resolution mechanism. International Review of Applied Economics, 36(3), 403-423.
Solipa, I. & Epstein, G. (2022) The Price of Speculation: Cryptocurrencies and Climate Change. PERI Working Paper Series
Bühlmann, F., Christesen, C. A., Cousin, B., Denord, F., Ellersgaard, C. H., Lagneau‐Ymonet, P., ... & Yu, X. (2025). Varieties of economic elites? Preliminary results from the World Elite Database (WED). The British Journal of Sociology.