Emily Sellars

Emily A. Sellars is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Yale University. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2015) and has held prior positions at Texas A&M University’s Bush School of Government and the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy. Her research focuses on political economy, development economics, and colonial history, with a particular emphasis on state-building processes, fiscal systems, and historical legacies.

Her work examines the interplay between colonial governance structures, elite dynamics, and economic policies. Notable contributions include studies on fiscal legibility in colonial Mexico, the consequences of Jesuit expulsion, and the impact of emigration on political reform. Her 2017 dissertation won APSA’s prestigious Mancur Olson Award for best dissertation in political economy.

Her articles span topics from state-building backfires and rebellion dynamics to water resource sustainability in agriculture. She has contributed to journals like the American Journal of Political Science and presented findings on historical institutional change, demographic collapse effects, and decentralization policies.

• Education:
  • Ph.D. in Political Science & Agricultural Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2015)
  • Earlier degrees not explicitly listed
• Awards:
  • APSA Mancur Olson Award (2017)
• Research Themes:
  • Colonial governance and fiscal systems
  • Elite coordination and rebellion mechanisms
  • Historical institutional persistence
  • Environmental policy and water sustainability