I Study How
States Shape Human
Flourishing in Various Challenging Contexts.
I study how states shape development outcomes. My research investigates m how institutional arrangements—bureaucratic capacities, organizational designs, and democratic processes—determine whether governance structures enable human flourishing or perpetuate inequality.
I Study How
States Shape Human Flourishing in Various Challenging Contexts.
I study how states shape development outcomes. My research investigates
how institutional arrangements—bureaucratic capacities, organizational designs, and democratic processes—determine whether governance structures enable human flourishing or perpetuate inequality.
About.
I am a PhD candidate (expected May 2025) in Political Science at Brown University specializing in comparative politics and political economy with a regional focus on South Asia, particularly India. I work on the political economy of public service delivery in developing democracies, focusing on bureaucratic agency, politician-bureaucrat relations, electoral accountability mechanisms, and the institutional determinants of spatial inequality in urban infrastructure provision. My doctoral dissertation explores how even weak states can work effectively when the right institutional conditions emerge. Through comparative analysis of service delivery in Indian cities, I demonstrate that meso-level bureaucratic structures—the overlooked middle layer between elite policymakers and street-level implementers—often I am a PhD candidate (expected May 2025) in Political Science at Brown University specializing in comparative politics and political economy with a regional focus on South Asia, particularly India. I work on the political economy of public service delivery in developing democracies, focusing on bureaucratic agency, politician-bureaucrat relations, electoral accountability mechanisms, and the institutional determinants of spatial inequality in urban infrastructure provision. My doctoral dissertation explores how even weak states can work effectively when the right institutional conditions emerge. Through comparative analysis of service delivery in Indian cities, I demonstrate that meso-level bureaucratic structures—the overlooked middle layer between elite policymakers and street-level implementers—often I am a PhD candidate (expected May 2025) in Political Science at Brown University specializing in comparative politics and political economy with a regional focus on South Asia, particularly India. I work on the political economy of public service delivery in developing democracies, focusing on bureaucratic agency, politician-bureaucrat relations, electoral accountability mechanisms, and the institutional determinants of spatial inequality in urban infrastructure provision. My doctoral dissertation explores how even weak states can work effectively when the right institutional conditions emerge. Through comparative analysis of service delivery in Indian cities, I demonstrate that meso-level bureaucratic structures—the overlooked middle layer between elite policymakers and street-level implementers—often I am a PhD candidate (expected May 2025) in Political Science at Brown University specializing in comparative politics and political economy with a regional focus on South Asia, particularly India. I work on the political economy of public service delivery in developing democracies, focusing on bureaucratic agency, politician-bureaucrat relations, electoral accountability mechanisms, and the institutional determinants of spatial inequality in urban infrastructure provision. My doctoral dissertation explores how even weak states can work effectively when the right institutional conditions emerge. Through comparative analysis of service delivery in Indian cities, I demonstrate that meso-level bureaucratic structures—the overlooked middle layer between elite policymakers and street-level implementers—often
About.
I am a PhD candidate (expected May 2025) in Political Science at Brown University specializing in comparative politics and political economy with a regional focus on South Asia, particularly India. I work on the political economy of public service delivery in developing democracies, focusing on bureaucratic agency, politician-bureaucrat relations, electoral accountability mechanisms, and the institutional determinants of spatial inequality in urban infrastructure provision. My doctoral dissertation explores how even weak states can work effectively when the right institutional conditions emerge. Through comparative analysis of service delivery in Indian cities, I demonstrate that meso-level bureaucratic structures—the overlooked middle layer between elite policymakers and street-level implementers—often
PROFILE
SYLLABUS
EVALUATION
DALES
PROFILE
SYLLABUS
EVALUATION
DALES
My research employs a multi-method strategy (Brady & Collier, 2010), as I acknowledge the necessity of diverse analytical tools for complex social phenomena. A central tenet of my approach is contextual sensitivity; I recognize that causal effects exhibit heterogeneity across varying settings (Hall, 2003; Locke & Thelen, 1995). Consequently, I eschew universalist assumptions, instead interrogating how specific conditions shape outcomes (Franzese, 2007). I place emphasis on delineating causal mechanisms—the intervening processes linking explanans and explanandum (Elster, 1989; Gerring, 2008). Methodologically, I integrate ethnographic fieldwork for nuanced, in-depth understanding with comparative case studies to analyze cross-contextual variation. My quantitative data analysis identifies broader empirical regularities, which I then ground and interpret through qualitative insights, thereby avoiding the decontextualized inferences critiqued by Achen (2002). This synergistic approach enables my conclusions to achieve robust generalizability precisely because they are built upon profound contextual grounding (Woolcock, 2022).
My research employs a multi-method strategy (Brady & Collier, 2010), as I acknowledge the necessity of diverse analytical tools for complex social phenomena. A central tenet of my approach is contextual sensitivity; I recognize that causal effects exhibit heterogeneity across varying settings (Hall, 2003; Locke & Thelen, 1995).
DISSERTATION PROJECT
Why do regions with identical institutional
designs produce dramatically different
governance outcomes? This research examines
how meso-level bureaucratic structures
DISSERTATION PROJECT
Across the developing world, we observe
puzzling variations in public service delivery
despite identical formal structures. Some
jurisdictions consistently deliver reliable