Social policy, including public education, health, and welfare policy, both reflects and shapes the distribution of economic and political power in a country and therefore has important consequences for both individual and collective well-being. My research addresses the ways in which economic and political processes produce different social policy outcomes in the developing world, particularly in Latin America. Through the development of theoretical explanations and hypothesis testing combining quantitative and qualitative methodologies, my work addresses key policy questions, including: Why do national social policies vary? What effect does globalization have on policies in developing countries, particularly in Latin America? And, what shapes public preferences for policy? My work demonstrates that the answers to these questions lie at the intersection of political power and institutions. Economic change and domestic political institutions influence the political capacity of groups to shape welfare policy outcomes.
My book, Workers and Welfare in Latin America: Mexico in Comparative and Historical Perspective (University of Pittsburgh Press, Latin America Series), examines the role of organized labor and institutional change in the development of welfare policy in Latin America. Drawing insights from the development welfare policies in the advanced industrialized democracies and the literature in economics and political science on institutional stability and change, I develop a theoretical framework that explains how the interaction of working class power, political institutions, and policy legacies shape welfare policy outcomes. This framework is used to examine the politics and development of welfare policy in Mexico since the 1920s. Qualitative evidence from historical archives, other primary documents, and over 80 interviews with Mexican elites combined with statistical analysis of original data on worker mobilization and welfare provision demonstrate the ways in which organized workers, institutions, and policy legacies shape welfare outcomes. Contrary to common characterizations, labor unions played a central role in the development of Mexican welfare policy throughout the 20th century. However, economic and political reforms of the 1980s and 1990s changed the relationship between unions and the government in ways that led to fundamental changes in social policy. This project was supported by two nationally competitive graduate fellowships (1998-99, 2000-01) and one Faculty Fulbright Award (2004-05). Visit the book page for more information.
My next major project, funded by a SSHRC Standard Research Grant through 2013, will examine the comparative historical development of welfare in Latin America since the late 19th century. Other published and working papers examine the effects of pension privatization on women’s welfare, model the effects of globalization and political institutions on social spending commitments, and explore the inter-relationship between macro-level income inequality and economic development and micro-level preferences regarding social policies and redistribution. Papers on these and other topics can be found on the papers page.
Research Interests
Social policy, including public education, health, and welfare policy, both reflects and shapes the distribution of economic and political power in a country and therefore has important consequences for both individual and collective well-being. My research addresses the ways in which economic and political processes produce different social policy outcomes in the developing world, particularly in Latin America. Through the development of theoretical explanations and hypothesis testing combining quantitative and qualitative methodologies, my work addresses key policy questions, including: Why do national social policies vary? What effect does globalization have on policies in developing countries, particularly in Latin America? And, what shapes public preferences for policy? My work demonstrates that the answers to these questions lie at the intersection of political power and institutions. Economic change and domestic political institutions influence the political capacity of groups to shape welfare policy outcomes.
My book, Workers and Welfare in Latin America: Mexico in Comparative and Historical Perspective (University of Pittsburgh Press, Latin America Series), examines the role of organized labor and institutional change in the development of welfare policy in Latin America. Drawing insights from the development welfare policies in the advanced industrialized democracies and the literature in economics and political science on institutional stability and change, I develop a theoretical framework that explains how the interaction of working class power, political institutions, and policy legacies shape welfare policy outcomes. This framework is used to examine the politics and development of welfare policy in Mexico since the 1920s. Qualitative evidence from historical archives, other primary documents, and over 80 interviews with Mexican elites combined with statistical analysis of original data on worker mobilization and welfare provision demonstrate the ways in which organized workers, institutions, and policy legacies shape welfare outcomes. Contrary to common characterizations, labor unions played a central role in the development of Mexican welfare policy throughout the 20th century. However, economic and political reforms of the 1980s and 1990s changed the relationship between unions and the government in ways that led to fundamental changes in social policy. This project was supported by two nationally competitive graduate fellowships (1998-99, 2000-01) and one Faculty Fulbright Award (2004-05). Visit the book page for more information.
My next major project, funded by a SSHRC Standard Research Grant through 2013, will examine the comparative historical development of welfare in Latin America since the late 19th century. Other published and working papers examine the effects of pension privatization on women’s welfare, model the effects of globalization and political institutions on social spending commitments, and explore the inter-relationship between macro-level income inequality and economic development and micro-level preferences regarding social policies and redistribution. Papers on these and other topics can be found on the papers page.