Pablo Vicente Pastor y Camarasa

BIO: After the Great Financial Crisis affected my Spanish family, I developed a deep passion for understanding financial instability. During my undergrad studies at the Université Catholique de Louvain, this interest led me to the Minsky Summer School at Bard College where I met Steve Fazzari. I then completed my studies with a Master’s in Banking and Finance from the University of Glasgow and a Master’s in Finance from Barcelona School of Economics. After a year of working experience at CaixaBank Research, I started a PhD in economics at Ghent University. With an eye on bringing my research to the frontier, I obtained the Belgian American Educational Foundation fellowship to come to the Weidenbaum Center under the guidance of Prof. Steve Fazzari.

RESEARCH: My research uses modern techniques of text-mining to study to role of optimism and uncertainty in the banking sector and on firms’ financial decisions. My time at the Weidenbaum Center is an unique opportunity to develop the theoretical side of my research. I have developed a model in which firms invest and borrow from an optimistic banking sector. The model shows how sentiment can impact investment by increasing the level of leverage. The fruitful discussions with Prof. Steve Fazzari has helped to identify the potential channels of transmission between bank sentiment and firm investment and empirically test my model.

“The Weidenbaum Center is a unique intellectually stimulating environment. Interactions with colleagues has taught me the importance of influencing policy and developing transformative research. The Weidenbaum Center is generous enough to provide me with an office and great morning coffee. Attending the events at the Center is an amazing experience. I have learned a lot from great researchers with a strong and inspiring commitment to contribute to society.”