Jonas Pontusson

Jonas Pontusson is a Full Professor of Comparative Politics at the University of Geneva, where he has been a faculty member since 2010. Previously, he held full professorships at Cornell University and Princeton University. His research focuses on comparative political economy, examining the intersection of economic systems, political institutions, and social outcomes across different national contexts.

• PhD from the University of California at Berkeley (1986)

Pontusson's research interests span comparative and international political economy, diversity of capitalism, growth models, labor markets, unions, economic and social policies, inequalities, and redistribution. His work employs historical-comparative methods to analyze how political institutions shape economic outcomes and how economic structures influence political behavior and policy formation. A central theme in his research is understanding the political dynamics of inequality and redistribution in advanced democracies, with particular attention to the role of labor movements and class politics. His scholarship bridges macro-institutional analysis with micro-level studies of political behavior and representation.

His recent publications reveal a consistent focus on the politics of inequality, representation, and redistribution, with increasing attention to the spatial dimensions of economic and political phenomena. Pontusson's work bridges comparative political economy with electoral studies, examining how economic structures shape political behavior and representation. His research often employs large-N comparative analyses while maintaining attention to historical context and institutional variation across capitalist democracies.

• ERC Advanced Grant 741538 'Unequal democracies' (2017-2022)
• SNSF Grant 10017_166186 'Varieties of Growth Models' (2016-2019)
• SNFS Grant 100017_166238 'Why are poor citizens underrepresented in parliament?' (2016-2019)

Pontusson has supervised numerous doctoral and master's students, including Max Joosten, Jérémie Poltier, Anna-Lena Nadler, and François Godard. His research projects have secured significant funding from the European Research Council and Swiss National Science Foundation, reflecting the importance of his work on the politics of inequality, growth models, and democratic representation. He frequently collaborates with other leading scholars in the field, including Lucio Baccaro, Reto Wüest, and Damian Raess, forming an extensive international research network focused on contemporary challenges to democratic representation and economic equality.