Thad Dunning
Associate Professor
Department of Political Science
Yale University
EDUCATION
Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley, Political Science, 2006.
M.A. University of California, Berkeley, Economics, 2006.
M.A. University of California, Berkeley, Political Science, 2002.
M.A. Stanford University, Latin American Studies, 2000.
B.A. Brown University (with highest honors), 1996.
ACADEMIC EMPLOYMENT
Yale University (July 2006-present), Department of Political Science
Associate Professor (with tenure, July 2010-present)
Associate Professor (without tenure, July 2009-June 2010)
Assistant Professor (July 2006-June 2009)
Affiliated Faculty, Institution for Social and Policy Studies
Research Fellow, MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies
Director of Undergraduate Studies, International Studies Major (2007-2008)
PUBLICATIONS
Book:
2008. Crude Democracy: Natural Resource Wealth and Political Regimes. 2008. Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics, Cambridge University Press.
Winner of the best book award from the Comparative Democratization Section of the American Political Science Association and the Gaddis Smith International Book Prize for the best first book on an international subject by a member of the Yale faculty. The dissertation on which the book is based won the Mancur Olson Prize from the Political Economy Section of the American Political Science Association, for the best dissertation in the field of political economy completed in the previous two years.
Journal Articles:
2010. Cross-Cutting Cleavages and Ethnic Voting: An Experimental Study of Cousinage in Mali. American Political Science Review 104 (1): 21-39 (with Lauren Harrison).
2010. Endogenous Oil Rents. Comparative Political Studies 43 (4).
2008. Model Specification in Instrumental-Variables Regression. Political Analysis 16 (3): 290-302.
2008. Improving Causal Inference: Strengths and Limitations of Natural Experiments. Political Research Quarterly 61 (2): 282-293.
2005. Resource Dependence, Economic Performance and Political Stability. The Journal of Conflict Resolution, 49 (4): 451-482.
2005. Classic Questions, New Contexts: Development in an Era of Bits and Bytes. Introduction to Taylor Boas and Thad Dunning, eds., special issue of Studies in Comparative International Development, 40 (2) (with Taylor Boas).
2005. Will the Digital Revolution Revolutionize Development? Drawing Together the Debate. Conclusion to Taylor Boas and Thad Dunning, eds., special issue of Studies in Comparative International Development, 40 (2) (with Taylor Boas and Jennifer Bussell).
2004. Conditioning the Effects of Aid: Cold War Politics, Donor Credibility, and Democracy in Africa. International Organization, 58 (2), Spring 2004.
2004. Oil and the Political Economy of Conflict in Colombia and Beyond: A linkages approach. Geopolitics, 9 (1) (with Leslie Wirpsa).
2004. Transplants to Hybrids: Exploring Institutional Pathways to Growth. Introduction to Thad Dunning and Grigore Pop-Eleches, eds., “Institutions for Economic Development: A Cross-Disciplinary Approach,” a special issue of Studies in Comparative International Development, 38 (4) (with Grigore Pop-Eleches).
Chapters in Edited Volumes:
2010. Design-Based Inference: Beyond the Pitfalls of Regression Analysis? To appear in David Collier and Henry Brady, eds., Rethinking Social Inquiry: Diverse Tools, Shared Standards. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2nd edition.
2009. Direct Action and Associational Participation: The Problem-Solving Repertoires of Individuals. 2009. In Ruth Berins Collier and Samuel P. Handlin, eds., Reorganizing Popular Politics: Participation and the New Interest Regime in Latin America Penn State University Press.
2007. Modeling Selection Effects. In William Outhwaite and Stephen P. Turner, eds., The SAGE Handbook of Social Science Methodology. London: Sage Publications (with David Freedman).
Other Publications and Reviews:
2010. “Review of Jared Diamond and James Robinson, eds., Natural Experiments of History.” Forthcoming, Perspectives on Politics.
2009. Instrumental Variables. International Encyclopedia of Political Science, forthcoming.
2009. Comment on Daniel Lederman and William Maloney, “In Search of the Missing Resource Curse.” 2009. Economia 9 (1).
2008. Natural and Field Experiments: The Role of Qualitative Methods. Qualitative Methods 6 (2) (Newsletter of the American Political Science Association’s Organized Section on Qualitative Methods).
2008. Review of John Gerring, Case Study Research: Principles and Practices, Cambridge University Press. 2008. In The Journal of Politics, 70 (1): 282-83.
2007. The Role of Iteration in Multi-Method Research. Qualitative Methods (Newsletter of the American Political Science Association’s Organized Section on Qualitative Methods), 5 (1).
2007. Report to a committee of the National Academy of Sciences on improving USAID program evaluation: Field memos from Peru. . The committee’s full report is available online here.
Working and Resting Papers:
2010. Fighting and Voting: Violent Conflict and Electoral Politics.” Introduction to a proposed special issue of the Journal of Conflict Resolution.
2010. The Salience of Ethnic Categories: Field and Natural Experimental Evidence from Indian Village Councils. Working paper, Department of Political Science, Yale University.
2010. Caste, Political Parties, and Distribution in Indian Village Councils. Working paper, Department of Political Science, Yale University (with Janhavi Nilekani).
2008. The Analysis of Experimental Data: Comparing Techniques. Working paper (with Susan Hyde). Presented at the annual meetings of the American Political Science Association, Boston, MA, August 29-September 1, 2008.
2004. Creating Social Facts: Alternative Approaches to Autonomous Action and Political Change. Paper presented at the annual meetings of the American Political Science Association, Chicago, Illinois, September 2-5, 2004.
FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS
Best Book Award (2009). Comparative Democratization Section of the American Political Science Association (for Crude Democracy).
Gaddis Smith International Book Prize (2009). Awarded by the MacMillan Center for the best first book on an international topic by a member of the Yale faculty (for Crude Democracy).
Mancur Olson Award (2008). Given by the Political Economy Section of APSA for the best dissertation in political economy, for a Ph.D. completed in the previous two years.
Peter Odegard Memorial Award (2005). Given annually to three graduate students in Political Science at UC Berkeley who are judged to display outstanding scholarly promise.
Allan Sharlin Memorial Fellowship, Institute of International Studies, UC Berkeley (2004-2005).
Reinhard Bendix Memorial Research Fellowship, Institute of International Studies, UC Berkeley (2004-2005)
John L. Simpson Memorial Research Fellowship, Institute of International Studies, UC Berkeley (2004-2005)
Political Science Training Fellowship in Formal Modeling, UC Berkeley (2002-2003)
Chancellor’s Research Grant, UC Berkeley (Summer 2003)
Political Science Departmental Fellowship, UC Berkeley (2001-02)
Foreign Language and Areas Studies (FLAS) fellowship to study Portuguese, Stanford University (1999-2000).
TEACHING
Yale University, Department of Political Science
Graduate teaching
Quantitative Methods: Linear Regression Model and Extensions (Spring 2010)
Formal Models of Comparative Politics (Fall 2009, Spring 2007)
Researching Ethnic Politics (Spring 2007)
Undergraduate teaching
Democracy and Development (Fall 2008)
Senior Seminar in International Studies (Spring 2007-Fall 2008)
Researching Ethnic Politics (Spring 2007)
Ethnic Politics in Comparative Perspective (Fall 2006)
UC Berkeley, Department of Political Science
Undergraduate teaching
Method in Comparative Analysis (Spring 2004). Graduate Student Instructor for Professor David Collier. Received the “Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award,” given to approximately 10 percent of Graduate Student Instructors at Berkeley.
UC Berkeley, Department of Statistics,
Undergraduate teaching
Linear Modeling: Theory and Applications (Fall 2004). Graduate Student Instructor for Professor David Freedman. Nominated by Statistics Department for the “Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award.”
Statistical Inferences for the Social and Life Sciences (Fall 2003). Graduate Student Instructor for Professor David Freedman.
American Political Science Association (APSA). Taught short courses on natural experiments and research design at the 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 annual meetings of APSA.
Institute on Qualitative and Multi-Method Research, Arizona State University and Maxwell School of Syracuse University. Faculty member; lectured on natural experiments, multi-method research, and other topics (January 2005, 2007, 2008, and June 2009).
USAID Democracy and Governance Officers Workshop. Taught workshop on impact evaluation methods to 75 Democracy and Governance officers at USAID (June 9-10, 2008, co-taught with Devra Moehler).
Brown Summer Institute on Development and Inequality (BIARI) Lectured on natural experiments and multi-method research (June 2009).
Hydrocarbon Executive Education Program, International Center on Energy and the Environment, IESA, Caracas, Venezuela. Lectured on the politics of natural resource wealth (August 2005).
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE AND OTHER EXPERIENCE
Journal Referee
American Economic Review, American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, International Organization, The Journal of Conflict Resolution, Journal of Politics, Political Psychology, Political Research Quarterly, Studies in Comparative International Development
Visiting Researcher
Institute for Quantitative Social Science (IQSS), Harvard University (Fall 2009).
Center for Energy and Environmental Studies, Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administracion (IESA), Caracas, Venezuela. (April-August 2005).
Advisor/Consultant
Assisted a committee of the National Academy of Sciences with recommendations on improving USAID program evaluation; methodological consultant on a visit to Peru (June 2007).
Assisted in the selection of municipalities for USAID decentralization programming in Albania, with randomized assignment of treatment and control municipalities (2008).
Wrote chapter on impact evaluation for a USAID/ARD handbook on decentralization programming.
Assisted Morrison & Foerster and Terry Karl (Stanford) with preparation of testimony for two cases in which Salvadoran generals were found liable for human rights abuses (2000-2002).
Committee and Editorial Board Membership
Nominating Committee, Qualitative and Multi-Methods Section, APSA (2010).
Best Book Award Committee, Comparative Democratization Section, APSA (2010).
Alex George Prize Committee, Qualitative and Multi-Methods Section, APSA (2008).
Editorial Board, Comparative Political Economy eJournal, Political Science Network (PSN) of the Social Science Research Network (SSRN)
Other Memberships
Experiments in Governance and Politics (EGAP) network.
Editorial Assistant
Studies in Comparative International Development (SCID), UC Berkeley (2002-2005).
Coordinator
Positive Political Theory Seminar, Institute for Government Studies, UC Berkeley (2002-03).
ADDITIONAL EDUCATION
Empirical Implications of Theoretical Models (EITM), University of California, Berkeley (June-July 2005). An NSF-funded project designed to promote the integration of theoretical models and empirical research in political science.
Institute on Qualitative Research Methods (IQRM), Arizona State University (January 2004). A project of the Consortium on Qualitative Research Methods designed to improve qualitative research in political science.
Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR)
University of Michigan (Summer 2002). Summer program on statistical methods.
LANGUAGES
Fluent, research-level French, Spanish, and Portuguese. Some Mandarin Chinese.
PRESENTATIONS
Columbia University, CSDS Development Seminar, October 22, 2010 (planned)
Latin American Studies Association, Toronto, Canada, October 8, 2010 (planned)
University of Michigan, Comparative Politics Workshop, October 1, 2010 (planned)
University of California San Diego, African Politics Seminar, May 18, 2010
University of California Los Angeles, Comparative Politics Workshop, May 17, 2010
New York University, CAPERS African Political Economy conference, May 13, 2010
Georgetown University, Comparative Politics Workshop, April 9, 2010
Harvard University, Harvard-MIT-Brown Seminar on South Asian Politics, April 8, 2010
Princeton University, Department of Politics, March 24, 2010
Princeton University, Center for the Study of Democratic Politics, Dec. 3, 2009
Kellogg Institute, University of Notre Dame, October 1, 2009
University of British Colombia, Political Science, Sept. 28, 2009
American Political Science Association, Toronto, Canada, August 28-31, 2009
Sociedad Argentina de Analisis Politico, Santa Fe, Argentina, August 20, 2009
Yale University, Political Methodology Society meetings, July 23-25, 2009
Yale University, “Fighting and Voting” conference, May 14-15, 2009 (organizer)
Yale University, Experiments in Governance and Politics (EGAP) meetings, April 23-24
Princeton University, Faculty Colloquium in Comparative Politics, April 30, 2009
Washington University in St. Louis, Political Economy Workshop, Dec. 5, 2008
Stanford University, Comparative Politics Workshop, November 10, 2008
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, October 31, 2008
American Political Science Association meetings, August 2008
Yale University, Economía meetings (discussant), May 3, 2008
Duke University, Methodological Advances in Comparative Politics, April 11-12, 2008
Columbia University, Comparative Politics Workshop, April 9, 2008
Yale University, Conference on Venezuela, November 30, 2007
The University of Chicago, Comparative Politics Workshop, November 1, 2007
University of Rochester, Wallis Institute of Political Economy, October 25, 2007
Latin American Studies Association meetings, September 2007
American Political Science Association meetings, August-September 2007
Stanford University, Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law, May 11, 2007
Stanford University, Comparative Politics Workshop, May 7, 2007
Yale University, Council on Latin American Studies, April 26, 2007
Harvard University, Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, April 10, 2007
Brown University, Colloquium on Comparative Research, March 7, 2007
Yale University, Comparative Politics Workshop, February 27, 2007
American Political Science Association meetings, August 2006
American Political Science Association meetings, September 2005
Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administracion, Caracas, Venezuela, June 2005
American Political Science Association meetings, September 2004
Conference on Natural Resources and War, McGill University, September 2003.
Conference settlement of civil conflicts, Santa Fe Institute, Bogota, Colombia, May 2003
UC Davis, Hemispheric Institute on the Americas, October 2001
International Political Science Association meetings, Durban, South Africa, June 2003
International Studies Association meetings, New Orleans, Louisiana, April 2002
Latin American Studies Association meetings, Washington, D.C., September, 2001
2004. Annual meetings of the American Political Science Association, Chicago, Illinois, September 2-5, 2004.