Phone: +44 (0) 24 7615 0586
Fax: +44 (0) 7615 7652 3032
Email: S.Mukand@warwick.ac.uk
Room: 1.124 (Social Studies Building)
Office hour: Wednesdays (1pm - 3pm). Or by appointment

 SHARUN W. MUKAND

Research Associate, ThReD
Research Theme Leader: Political Economy of Development and Globalization, CAGE

Research Fellow: CESIfo, Munich

Senior Research Fellow, STICERD, London School of Economics

Research papers

I. POLITICAL ECONOMY OF POLICYMAKING 

"Policy Gambles" (with Sumon Majumdar), American Economic Review (2004)

[Why do policymaker take gambles that they know are unlikely to be successful? We throw light on not only why Lyndon Johnson would persist with a military strategy in Vietnam (or Bush in Iraq), but also why leaders may have an incentive to gamble with escalation in the first place. At a broader level this paper throws light on the incentives of a policymaker to experiment (or not) with policy innovations over the course of his time in office.]

"In Search of the Holy Grail: Policy Convergence, Experimentation and Economic Peformance" (with Dani Rodrik)

"Redistributive Promises and the Adoption of Economic Reform" (with Sanjay Jain) American Economic Review (2003)

"The Leader as Catalyst: On Mass Movements and the Mechanics of Institutonal Change" (with Sumon Majumdar). Working Paper (Latest Version)

"The Political Economy of Policy Reform" The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics (2009)

II. POLITICAL ECONOMY OF DEVELOPMENT

"Walk the Line: Conflict, State Capacity and the Political Dynamics of Economic Reform" (2011) Working Paper (under revision)

"Democracy, Visibility and Public Good Provision" (with Anandi Mani) Journal of Development Economics (2006)

[Despite their large benefits, why do governments in developing countries neglect the provision of several essential public goods, despite their considerable benefits? Furthermore, why are voters apathetic towards government neglect of essential public goods? We develop a simple framework that emphasizes the `visibility' of public goods as being key to understanding these differences. We argue that the forces that make a democracy responsive to the prevention of a famine are the very same forces that result in the great tolerance of malnutrition.]

"Politics, Information and the Urban Bias" (with Sumon Majumdar and Anandi Mani), Journal of Development Economics (2004)

III. INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS/ INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY

"Globalization and the 'Confidence Game' " Journal of International Economics (2007)

 [Why would a government deliberately enact policies that it knows are likely to be inefficient? Why will a government's desire to earn the approval and confidence of international capital markets not have a positive 'disciplining' effect?]

"In Search of the Holy Grail: Policy Convergence, Experimentation and Economic Performance" (with Dani Rodrik), American Economic Review (2005)

Globalization and the (Mis)Governance of Nations (with Arthur Blouin and Sayantan Ghosal), (2011) [under revision]

"Workers Without Borders? Culture and the Political Economy of Globalization" (with Sanjay Jain and Sumon Majumdar), Working Paper [under revision]

[Increasing international labor mobility is arguably the one policy reform that will yield the largest gains in world output and welfare. Why do we not see greater cross-border worker mobility? This paper analyzes the role of culture in driving migration policy. In doing so this paper provides a framework to engage in some practical mechanism design - and suggests politically sustainable Pareto improving policy reforms.]

Policy Briefing Paper: Culture and the Case for Greater Labour Mobility

Media Coverage in The Economist Magazine

IV. BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS: APPLICATIONS TO POLITICS AND DEVELOPMENT

The Persistence of Partisanship: Evidence from 9/11 (with Ethan Kaplan)

[The paper empirically identifies a new source of inefficiency in policymaking in democracies - namely, the persistence of partisanship. In particular, the mere act of registering (or not) with a political party today can years later have an impact on the trajectory of politics.]

Press Coverage in Slate (Washington Post) : "You Never Forget Your First"

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THE TONGUE SET FREE

* May 24, 1980

THE TORCH IN MY EAR

* Taraf de Haidouks Culai "Neacscu"

THE PLAY OF THE EYES

* Ndebele

"We will not cease from exploration

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time"

from Little Giddens