The IMPA Team

Ignacio González

Co-Director of IMPA and Assistant Professor of Economics, American University

Prof. González’s main research focuses on macroeconomics, public finance, and inequality. He obtained his PhD in Economics at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. He also holds a MPhil in Political Philosophy from Pompeu Fabra University, and a BA in Law and a Bsc in Economics from Carlos III University in Madrid. Before joining AU, he was a postdoctoral research scholar at Columbia University, where he worked under the supervision of Prof. Joseph E. Stiglitz.

Juan Antonio Montecino

Co-Director of IMPA and Assistant Professor of Economics, American University

Prof. Montecino’s main research focuses on macroeconomics, financial liberalization, and inequality. He obtained his PhD in Economics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and has a MSc in Economics from Pompeu Fabra University, and a BA in History from the University of British Columbia. Before joining AU, he was a postdoctoral research scholar at Columbia University, where he worked under the supervision of Prof. Joseph E. Stiglitz.

Mary Eschelbach Hansen

Co-Director for Administration and Professor of Economics, American University

Prof. Hansen’s main research focuses on US social policy. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and the Institute for New Economic Thinking. She has been quoted or cited in major news outlets and has given public testimony before the DC City Council and in Federal District Court. She earned her PhD in Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Secil Akin

Economist and Research Assistant Professor, American University

Prof. Akin’s main research focuses on the gender dimensions of macroeconomic policies. She has done research on fiscal and monetary policies, financial liberalization, debt sustainability analysis, and care policies. She obtained her PhD in Economics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She holds an MA degree from Ankara University and a BSc degree from the Middle East Technical University. Prior to joining AU, she worked as a research fellow at Ankara University.

Vasudeva Ramaswamy

Economist and Postdoctoral Fellow, American University

Dr. Vasudeva’s research work focuses on monetary policy and its effects on income and wealth inequality. Prior to starting his PhD, Vasudeva worked in corporate strategy consulting. He received his master’s degree in public policy from Carnegie Mellon University and his PhD in Economics from American University.

William Mooney

Research Assistant and PhD candidate, American University

Mr. Mooney’s main research focuses on productivity measures and macroeconomic growth theories. Before joining AU, he obtained a MSc in Economics at the University of Leeds and a BA in International Affairs at George Washington University. He has previously worked for a congressional office and a biotechnology firm in California where he grew interested in policies promoting innovation and growth.

Aina Puig

Research Assistant and PhD candidate, American University

Ms. Puig’s research focuses on macroeconomics and inequality topics. She has worked on projects studying the distributional effects of monetary policy while visiting the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. She has also interned at the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, and the Federal Reserve Board. She holds a BSc in Economics from the University of Maryland.

Joshua Sack

Research Assistant and PhD student, American University

Mr. Sack’s research focuses on macroeconomic and financial topics. Before joining AU, he obtained a BA in Quantitative Economics at Dickinson College. He has previously worked for political research organizations where he grew interested in the role of economic research public policy formation.

Michael Foster

Research Assistant and PhD student, American University

Mr. Foster is interested in public policy and inequality. Before joining AU, he earned degrees from the University of Southern Maine and Emory University. He previously worked in finance.

Past Team Members

IMPA sincerely thanks our past team members for their contributions.

Lídia Brun

Lídia Brun was Senior Economist at IMPA and a Research Fellow at American University from 2021 to 2023. She is currently an economist at the Fiscal Policy Analysis team at the European Commission’s Joint Research Center in Seville, where she is in charge of the development and maintenance of the Cortax model.

Praveena Bandara

Praveena Bandara was a Research Assistant at IMPA during Academic Year 2022-2023. She is currently a Post-Doctoral Fellow at Boston University Global Development Policy Center.

Daniela Escobar Lopez

Daniela Escobar Lopez was a Research Assistant at IMPA during the Fall 2023 semester. She is a Graduate Fellow and PhD student in Economics at American University.