David Skarbek is Professor of Political Science and Political Economy at Brown University. His research studies how extralegal governance institutions form, operate, and evolve. He has published extensively on the informal institutions that govern life in prisons in California and around the globe. His work has appeared in leading journals in political science, economics, and criminology, including in the American Political Science Review, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Journal of Law, Economics & Organization, and Journal of Criminal Justice. His work has been featured widely in national and international media outlets, such as the Atlantic, BBC, Business Insider, the Economist, Forbes, the Independent, and the Times. He received a Ph.D. in Economics from George Mason University in 2010.

His book, The Social Order of the Underworld: How Prison Gangs Govern the American Penal System (Oxford University Press), received the American Political Science Association’s 2016 William H. Riker Award for the best book in political economy in the previous three years. It was also awarded the 2014 Best Publication Award from the International Association for the Study of Organized Crime and was shortlisted for the British Sociological Association’s 2014 Ethnography Award.

Skarbek's second book, The Puzzle of Prison Order: Why Life Behind Bars Varies around the World (Oxford University Press), won the Outstanding Book Award from sections of both the American Society of Criminology and the Academy of Criminal Justice Studies. It was also co-winner of the Best Book Award from the International Association of Organized Crime.

Pawel’s research interests lie at the intersection of comparative politics, political economy, and economic history, with a geographic focus on Central and Eastern Europe. He studies the long-run effects of institutions and political processes on economic and political development, with an emphasis on cities and municipalities. Pawel earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from Duke University. His dissertation explores the role of historical city charters in promoting development. Pawel’s work has been published in European Union Politics and received the SAGE Award for the Best Article Published in EUP in 2021. His research has been supported by, among others, the Economic History Association, and the Social Science Research Institute at Duke University.

Kaitlyn is interested in the intersection of political violence, civil society, and democracy with a regional interest in Latin America. In her book project, she asks how the presence of criminal groups affects whether and how citizens interact with the state. Her analysis is based on a mixed-methods study of municipalities across Mexico. Kaitlyn earned her PhD in Government from Harvard University and a B.A. in Political Science and Spanish from Northwestern University. Her research has been supported by the U.S. Institute of Peace, National Science Foundation, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, and David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, among others.

Bréond is a philosopher whose interests are in the legal, social, and political dimensions of the built-environment. His current research focuses on the material and symbolic elements of our punitive practices. He earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University and B.A. from the University of Southern California

Gabriella Levy is a political scientist whose research explores the ways in which people interpret, evaluate, and respond to various forms of political violence, ranging from wartime civilian targeting to vigilantism to extortion of migrants. Her work focuses on Latin America; primarily uses survey methodology; and draws on research in international relations, comparative politics, and political psychology. Her research is published or forthcoming in the Journal of Politics and Comparative Political Studies. She received her Ph.D. from the Department of Political Science at Duke University in the summer of 2023.

Tarana Chauhan is an applied micro economist studying questions at the intersection of labor, gender and development, and climate change and development. Her research examines the distributional effects of various events, such as economic policy changes or extreme weather events. Employing econometric techniques on publicly available datasets, these papers rigorously evaluate current policies and identify potential gaps. Before the Ph.D., she helped evaluate a program on maternal and child health and nutrition with the International Food Policy Research Institute in India. She completed my Master's in Development Studies at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and received a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Delhi (Lady Shri Ram College for Women). She enjoys learning new dance styles and hiking. 

Hi! I am Max Garcia, 6th year PhD student at Boston University. I am an applied microeconomist, working on Development, Political Economy and Environmental Economics. I completed my BA and MA in Economics at the University of Chile. 

I am currently investigating how climate change impacts are mediated by institutions. Starting from the analysis of the institutions governing water usage and property in Chile, I show the effects of property rights enforcement on the distribution of water under private property. Climate change is expected to increase the frequency, length and intensity of events of water scarcity. If you want to know more, please reach out!

Marc is from Vancouver, British Columbia. He received his B.A. in philosophy from UBC in 2015 and his M.A. in theology from Regent College in 2018. His main philosophical interests are in political philosophy, ethics, and epistemology.