Jaakko Meriläinen

Jaakko Meriläinen is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the Department of Economics at Stockholm School of Economics (SSE), affiliated with the House of Governance and Public Policy and the KAB Center for Governance. He holds a Docent title from the University of Helsinki (2023) and a PhD from Stockholm University's Institute for International Economic Studies (IIES, 2019). His research focuses on political economics, examining democratic governance, economic/political development, and historical political economy. He has taught at SSE and ITAM in Mexico City, earning teaching excellence awards in 2022 and 2023. Recent work includes studies on electoral politics, class conflict, and pandemic impacts on elections. He has also been a visiting professor at the University of Barcelona's Master's in Institutions and Political Economy program (Spring 2024).

Education:

• PhD in Economics, Stockholm University (2019)
• Docent in Economics, University of Helsinki (2023)
• Previous studies at the University of Helsinki

Research Interests:

• Political representation and electoral dynamics
• Historical political economy and long-term institutional change
• Conflict, inequality, and policy responsiveness
• Experimental methods in political science

Awards:

• SSE Corporate Partners' Research Award (2024)
• Excellence in Teaching Award (2022)
• Excellence in Undergraduate Supervision Award (2023)

His work bridges micro-econometric analysis with historical data, addressing questions of governance, economic development, and political accountability. He has collaborated on projects spanning Finland, Mexico, and Europe, with a focus on institutional resilience and policy effectiveness.