Erik Wibbels

Erik Wibbels is the Presidential Penn Compact Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania and Co-Director of PDRI/DevLab@Penn. His research focuses on development, redistribution, political geography, and the application of machine learning to governance challenges. He leads major projects including the Machine Learning for Peace initiative, studying civil society dynamics, and analyzing the impact of US deportations on Central Americans and refugees' effects on social cohesion in Kenya and South Sudan.

Wibbels collaborates with governments, international donors (e.g., World Bank, UNHCR), and NGOs to design and evaluate development programs globally. His work emphasizes policy-relevance, evidenced by initiatives like evaluating local governance in Cambodia and assessing refugee impacts worldwide. Through PDRI/DevLab, he mentors post-doctoral fellows, graduate students, and undergraduates in applied research across multiple countries, including El Salvador, Guatemala, Nepal, and Central Asia.

His educational mission integrates project-based learning, internships, and coursework, bridging academic research with real-world policy challenges. Recent projects include analyzing climate change responses via NLP and developing early warning systems for democratic resilience using high-frequency data.