Assistant Development
Resume:
JESSICA GOTTLIEB
Stanford University
Department of Political Science
Encina Hall West, Room 100
Stanford, CA 94305-6044
818-***-**** (cell)
*****@********.***; www.stanford.edu/~jgott
EDUCATION
Stanford University
Ph.D. in Political Science (expected June 2013)
M.A. in Economics (2011)
Fields: Comparative Politics, Political Institutions, Political Methodology
Thesis: Peasants into Democrats? Evaluating the determinants of democratic failure in Mali
Advisors: James Fearon (Chair), Jeremy Weinstein, Beatriz Magaloni, Saumitra Jha
Yale University
B.A. in Political Science, cum Laude, with Distinction (2004)
B.A. in International Studies, cum Laude, with Distinction (2004)
Courses in Economics and Political Science, Universit de Paris I et Paris II, 2003
Thesis: Deeper than Development: democracy and decentralized health care in Mali
Advisors: William Foltz, Pierre F. Landry
DISSERTATION PROJECT
Peasants into Democrats? Evaluating the determinants of democratic failure in Mali
Why have free and fair elections frequently failed to generate government accountability in new
democracies? My dissertation presents three novel arguments to explain democratic failure and
tests their implications in the West African country of Mali. I show that low voter expectations
of government performance, the temptation for political parties to collude with one another, and
existing social inequalities contribute to weakening the accountability chain that democratic
institutions are designed to provide. In particular, I run a large-scale field experiment in 95
Malian towns where I find that providing a brief civics course about what local governments can
and should do effectively raises standards of politician performance and changes voter behavior.
I then discuss how the temptation for politicians to collude rather than compete contributes to
such information asymmetries, and use a regression discontinuity design to produce evidence of
party collusion within local councils in Mali. Using a new database of individual-level civic
activity, I explore the determinants of civic engagement in Mali and discuss how social
inequality undermines political mobilization among marginalized, under-informed citizens.
RESEARCH AND TEACHING INTERESTS
Voting behavior and elections; political and economic development; social networks and civic
engagement; field experiments and field methods; lab-in-the-field experiments and behavioral
economics; survey methods; sub-Saharan Africa (particularly francophone).
Rev. 8/15/2012
Gottlieb CV, 2
GRANTS AND AWARDS
2012 Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) Evidence to Action Research
Challenge, UC Berkeley, $5,000
2011 Vice Provost for Graduate Education Diversity Dissertation Research
Opportunity, Stanford University, $4,975
2010 International Growth Centre (with James Fearon), London School of Economics
and the UK Department for International Development, $36,978
2010 Global Underdevelopment Action Fund (with James Fearon), Freeman Spogli
Institute for International Studies at Stanford University, $40,000
2010 National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant, $12,000
2010 Graduate Research Opportunity Fund, Stanford University, $4,999
2009 Center for African Studies Graduate Fellowship, Stanford University, $2,000
2003 Frank M. Patterson Research Prize, Yale University, $3,000
2003 Sunrise Travel Research Award, Yale University, $2,000
FELLOWSHIPS
2012-2013 Pre-doctoral Fellow, Center for Democracy Development and the Rule of Law
(CDDRL), Stanford University
2010-2013 Stanford Interdisciplinary Graduate Fellowship
WORKING PAPERS
The logic of party collusion in a democracy: Evidence from Mali
Does raising voter expectations improve accountability? A field experiment in Mali
Who participates in civic activity and why? Evidence from Mali
ONGOING PROJECTS
Who benefits from clientelism? The determinants of bloc voting in Senegal
The political determinants of public goods provision in African democracies
INVITED PRESENTATIONS
Can Information Raising Voter Expectations Improve Accountability? A Field Experiment in
Mali. Presented at the World Bank s Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics,
Washington, DC, May 8, 2012.
Indicates a paper of my dissertation.
Gottlieb CV, 3
Information Effects on Local Governance in Developing Democracies: A field experiment in
Mali. Presented at the International Growth Centre s Political Economy workshop, London
School of Economics, September 22, 2011.
Is democracy working? Determinants of local government performance in Mali. Presented at
CDDRL s Better Governance for Better Health conference, April 26, 2010.
CONFERENCE PAPERS AND WORKSHOPS
Why don t citizens participate in developing democracies? The role of information in raising
expectations.
- African Studies Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, 2012 (scheduled).
Does raising voter expectations improve accountability? A field experiment in Mali.
- MPSA Annual Meeting, Chicago, April 14, 2012.
- Stanford s Comparative Politics Workshop, Stanford, May 14, 2012.
- Working Group on African Political Economy s (WGAPE) national conference,
Berkeley, May 25, 2012.
- APSA Annual Meeting, New Orleans, August 31, 2012 (scheduled).
Peasants into Democrats: Evaluating the Impact of Information on Local Governance in Mali.
- FSI s Action Fund Fridays, Stanford, December 2, 2011.
Is democracy working? Determinants of local government performance (failure) in Mali.
- Stanford s Comparative Politics Workshop, Stanford, April 20, 2009.
- Working Group on African Political Economy (WGAPE), Claremont, May 1, 2010.
RESEARCH AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Research Assistant, Poverty and Governance Program, Center for Democracy Development and
the Rule of Law, Beatriz Magaloni, 2009-2010.
Research Assistant, The Immigration of Muslim Immigrants into European Societies, David
Laitin, Summer 2009.
Field Research Assistant, Can Development Aid Contribute to Social Cohesion After Civil War?,
James Fearon, Macartan Humphreys, and Jeremy Weinstein, Summer 2008.
Program Coordinator, Center for Global Development, Washington, DC, 2005-2007.
Program Assistant, Academy for Educational Development, Washington, DC, 2004-2005.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Health and Human Rights in a Global Context. Guest lecture in Global Politics of Human
Rights, February 24, 2009.
Gottlieb CV, 4
Organizations and Public Policy. Faculty Instructor: Jonathan Bendor. Grader, Stanford
University, Spring 2010.
Global Politics of Human Rights. Faculty Instructor: Terry Karl. Teaching Assistant, Stanford
University, Winter 2010.
Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law. Faculty Instructors: Larry Diamond and Kathryn
Stoner-Weiss. Teaching Assistant, Stanford University, Fall 2009.
War and Peace in American Foreign Policy (Writing in the Major). Faculty Instructor: Kenneth
Schultz. Teaching Assistant, Stanford University, Spring 2009.
Global Politics of Human Rights. Faculty Instructor: Terry Karl. Teaching Assistant, Stanford
University, Winter 2009.
Developed curriculum for and taught health education in New Haven public schools, 2000-2004.
FIELD EXPERIENCE
Countries: Senegal (summer 2012), Mali (winter-spring 2011; summer 2010; fall 2008; summer
2003), Liberia (summer 2008), West Bank (spring 2005).
Activities: Trained and recruited educators, enumerators, and research assistants; supervised a
Masters student; managed data entry and verification; liaised with government offices.
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
2012 Reviewer, American Journal of Political Science
2012 Reviewer, Political Behavior
Co-organizer, Public Goods Provision and the Efficacy of Governance,
2012
Program on Poverty and Governance Conference, CDDRL
2008-2012 Discussant, Stanford Comparative Politics Workshop
2010-2011 Discussant, CISAC Social Science Seminar
2010 Search Committee, CDDRL Draper Hills Summer Fellowship
Co-organizer, Better Governance for Better Health Conference, CDDRL
2010
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
2011-present American Political Science Association
2007-present Working Group on African Political Economy (WGAPE)
2008-present Midwest Political Science Association
2012 West African Research Association (WARA)
2012 African Studies Association
2008-present Student Forum for African Studies, Stanford University
2006 Evaluation Gap Working Group, Center for Global Development
Gottlieb CV, 5
NON-ACADEMIC PUBLICATIONS
Reducing Child Mortality through Vitamin A in Nepal and Neural Tube Defects in Chile.
2007. In Case Studies in Global Health: Millions Saved. Ed. Ruth Levine. Boston: Jones and
Bartlett Publishers.
Comment la d mocratie peut am liorer un syst me de sant : Le cas du Mali. 2005. Le Nouvel
Observateur; Bamako, Mali.
SKILLS
Languages: English (native), French (fluent), Spanish (basic proficiency)
Software: Stata and R statistical packages, ArcGIS (mapping and spatial analysis),
LaTeX (document preparation), FrontlineSMS (mass two-way mobile communication)
REFERENCES
James Fearon Saumitra Jha
Professor of Political Science Assistant Professor of Political Economy
Stanford University Stanford Graduate School of Business
*******@********.*** ************@***.********.***
Jeremy Weinstein Larry Diamond
Associate Professor of Political Science Director, CDDRL
Stanford University Stanford University
*******@********.*** ********@********.***
Beatriz Magaloni
Associate Professor of Political Science
Stanford University
********@********.***
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