Thad Dunning

Thad Dunning is Robson Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley, where he directs the Center on the Politics of Development. He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on comparative politics, political economy, and methodology. His academic career includes previous positions as Professor of Political Science at Yale University from 2006 to 2013.

Dunning received his Ph.D. in political science and an M.A. in economics from the University of California, Berkeley in 2006. He also holds an M.A. in Political Science from Berkeley (2002), an M.A. in Latin American Studies from Stanford University (2000), and a B.A. with highest honors from Brown University (1996).

Professor Dunning's research spans multiple domains of political science with particular emphasis on comparative politics, political economy of development, and methodological innovation. His substantive work examines ethnic voting patterns, the consequences of political representation for minority groups, clientelist distribution systems, and the relationship between natural resource wealth and democratic institutions. Methodologically, he has made significant contributions to causal inference, natural experiments, and the integration of quantitative and qualitative approaches. His research draws on fieldwork and natural experiments across Latin America, Africa, and India, with a focus on how political institutions shape distribution in developing countries and how distributive patterns influence democratic processes.

Dunning's publications reveal a consistent focus on methodological rigor and innovation alongside substantive contributions to comparative politics. His work increasingly emphasizes cumulative learning and knowledge accumulation through coordinated research efforts, as evidenced by his leadership in the Metaketa Initiative. The interdisciplinary nature of his research bridges political science, economics, and methodology, with particular attention to how cross-cutting social cleavages affect political behavior and outcomes in ethnically diverse societies.

• Luebbert Book Award (2014) for Brokers, Voters, and Clientelism
• Best Book Award (2020) from Experimental Research Section of APSA for Information, Accountability, and Cumulative Learning
• Best Book Award (2013) from Experimental Research Section of APSA for Natural Experiments in the Social Sciences
• Best Book Award (2009) from Comparative Democratization Section of APSA for Crude Democracy
• Gaddis Smith International Book Prize (2009) for Crude Democracy
• Mancur Olson Award (2008) for best dissertation

Professor Dunning has advised numerous doctoral students who have gone on to prestigious academic positions at institutions including Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, and the University of Chicago. His current advisees include scholars working on political economy, ethnic politics, and methodological innovation, many affiliated with Berkeley's Center on the Politics of Development. He has received significant funding for research projects, including a principal investigator role for the EGAP Regranting Initiative (2013-2017) and funding from J-PAL for research on tax compliance in Uruguay.

As director of the Center on the Politics of Development, Dunning leads a collaborative research team focused on understanding political institutions in developing countries. The center supports interdisciplinary research connecting scholars across Berkeley and globally, with particular emphasis on methodological innovation and policy-relevant scholarship. Current projects examine topics including political accountability, ethnic politics, clientelism, and the political economy of natural resources.