Nelson Ruiz

Dr. Nelson Ruiz is a Senior Lecturer (≈ Associate Professor) and Head of the Political Economy Research Division in the Department of Government at the University of Essex. He holds affiliations as a Senior Visiting Fellow at the LSE Government Department, Associate Member at Nuffield College Oxford, and Research Associate at the University of Oxford's Department of Politics and International Relations (DPIR) and Latin American Centre.

He holds a PhD from the London School of Economics (2018). His research focuses on the political economy of development, particularly the role of money in politics, corruption, and political selection. Methodologically, he employs causal inference and data science tools. Prior to academia, he worked at the Inter-American Development Bank evaluating Latin American development projects.

His research trends emphasize electoral systems, campaign finance dynamics, and environmental policy intersections with political corruption. Recent work explores regulatory enforcement in deforestation contexts and the impact of campaign contribution limits. Key methodologies include regression discontinuity designs and experimental benchmarks.

Dr. Ruiz has received the Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship (2022–2024) for his work in political economy. His grants and funding include research on electoral integrity and policy evaluation. He actively contributes to interdisciplinary collaborations in political science and development studies.

He is affiliated with multiple research institutes at Essex and Oxford, focusing on Latin America and global development challenges. His future work aims to deepen understanding of anti-corruption mechanisms and the digital transformation of political campaigns.