Mara Balasa

Mara Balasa is a PhD Fellow at the Center for Statecraft and Strategic Communication and an Affiliated Researcher at the House of Governance and Public Policy, Stockholm School of Economics, with additional affiliation as an Associate at the Energy Policy Group's Clean Economy team.

Her educational background includes:

• MSc in Economics from Stockholm School of Economics (2019-2022)
• BSc (Hons) in Economics, Politics and International Studies from University of Warwick (2015-2019)

Her research focuses on industrial policy in the green transition, particularly decarbonisation of heavy industries including steel, ammonia, and methanol. She investigates cost structures of low-carbon production, designs policy instruments like carbon contracts for difference, and assesses political capacity for climate policy implementation using mixed quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Her work bridges industrial economics, climate policy, and European integration challenges.

Analysis of her publications reveals consistent focus on Romanian industrial decarbonisation pathways, examining economic trade-offs in steel, hydrogen, and fertiliser sectors while emphasizing strategic autonomy and competitiveness in EU climate policy frameworks.

Her scholarly recognition includes:

• UniCredit Foundation Masterscholarship for top students
• Hedelius scholarship

As a current PhD candidate, Balasa has no formal advising responsibilities. Her professional trajectory shows progression from policy implementation roles to academic research without indication of independent grant funding beyond scholarship support.

She maintains active affiliations with SSE's Center for Statecraft and Strategic Communication and House of Governance and Public Policy, while contributing to Cambridge Judge Business School's Energy Policy Group on clean economy initiatives.