André has been a PhD candidate in International Political Economy at King’s College London since October 2022. Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) through LISS-DTP, his project critically examines the transition to renewable energy in Brazil and Mexico from the perspective of these countries’ insertion within global capitalism. While completing his doctoral studies, André has also worked as a GTA for different modules in the Department of European and International Studies and Department of International Development, as well as a research assistant to Professor Engelbert Stockhammer.

André holds a MA in International Political Economy (King’s College London), a BA in Politics and Portuguese (University of Bristol) and a BSc in Economics (UNED).

Outside academia, André has worked as a consultant in the fields public policy, economics and development.

Research interests

• Energy transitions
• Development studies
• Critical political economy
• Political ecology

Office hours

Wednesday: 09.00 - 10.00

Thursday: 10.00 - 11.00

Please e-mail too book an appointment.

Teaching

6AAOB332 – Climate and Capitalism

PhD supervisors

Dr Thomas F Purcell (First supervisor) and Prof Alex Loftus (Second supervisor)

Doctoral research

In critically examining the energy transition to renewable energy in Brazil and Mexico from the perspective of these countries’ insertion within global capitalism, my PhD research seeks to explore the structural determinations for green industrial policy in developing countries. From a value-theoretical perspective, this means rent occupies a central place in this analysis, from defining the specificity of Latin American countries, which has historically rested on the supply of rent-bearing primary commodities to the global market, to understanding competition in electricity markets and within the renewable energy global value chain.

Beyond my PhD, my research interests include critical and heterodox approaches to the political economy of development and economic growth, particularly from the perspective of the constrains posed by countries’ position in global industrial and financial hierarchies.

Latest publications

Novas Otero, A. (forthcoming) “Grounding rent theory on a critique of capitalist political ecology (and viceversa): from the appropriation of nature to uneven development”, under review in Progress in Human Geography.

Stockhammer, E. and Novas Otero, A. (2023) ‘A tale of housing cycles and fiscal policy, not competitiveness. Growth drivers in Southern Europe’, New Political Economy, 28(3), pp. 483–505