Benjamin Schneer

Benjamin Schneer is an Assistant Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University's Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), affiliated with the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy, and Taubman Center for State and Local Government. He holds a Ph.D. in Government from Harvard University (2016), an M.A. in Economics from Stanford University, and B.A. degrees in History and Economics from Columbia University. Prior to HKS, he was an Assistant Professor at Florida State University's Political Science Department.

His research focuses on American politics, particularly political representation, electoral systems, and media influence. Key areas include gerrymandering reform, legislative petition dynamics, and the effects of partisan alignment on voter turnout. His work has been published in top journals like Science, American Journal of Political Science, and Journal of Politics, and has received media coverage in outlets such as the New York Times and Economist.

Notable contributions include proposing the Define-Combine Procedure to address partisan gerrymandering and analyzing historical petitioning systems' role in shaping U.S. legislative processes. His research on post-political careers highlights how elected officials leverage office for lobbying or corporate roles.

Scientific recognition includes the Political Behavior Best Paper Award (2022) and a co-winner of the American Journal of Political Science Best Paper Award (2018). His work on Arizona's redistricting commission has informed state-level electoral reforms.

Teaching responsibilities include courses on empirical methods and data science for politics. His research extends to civil society impact, legislative behavior, and electoral competitiveness, with datasets available in Harvard's Dataverse.