My research investigates how democratic institutions can better accommodate social diversity and internal mobility. I am particularly interested in how inclusive policies and everyday cross-group interactions contribute to civic trust, economic opportunity, and social cohesion.

In current projects, I study:

My broader research agenda connects political behavior, economic development, and public policy, drawing on large-scale administrative and survey data, natural experiments, and field-based collaborations with local partners.


working papers

Learning About Outgroups: The Impact of Broad Versus Deep Interactions
w/ Anujit Chakraborty, Arkadev Ghosh, Matt Lowe

Forging Social Cohesion Through Mass Education
w/ Nicholas Kuipers, Drew Stommes

Poverty and Prejudice: Evidence from Myanmar
w/ Constant Courtin, Michael Weaver


in progress

House of Castes: A School-Level Experiment on Intergroup Relations
w/ Arkadev Ghosh, Matt Lowe, Meghna Sinha Ray, Johny Tom Varghese

A Formal Model of Political Trolling
w/ Federica Izzo, Maria Titova

The Returns to Hiding Identity
w/ Anujit Chakraborty, Arkadev Ghosh, Matt Lowe


publications

Creating Cohesive Communities: A Youth Camp Experiment in India
w/ Arkadev Ghosh, Prerna Kundu, Matt Lowe
Review of Economic Studies (2025)

The Electoral Consequences of Mass Religious Events
w/ Siddhartha Baral, Michael Weaver
American Journal of Political Science (2024)

Election Cycles and Global Religious Intolerance
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2022; v120/1)

Rethinking the Study of Electoral Politics in the Developing World: Reflections on the Indian Case
w/ Adam Auerbach, Jennifer Bussell, Simon Chauchard, Francesca Jensenius, Mark Schneider, Neelanjan Sircar, Pavithra Suryanarayan, Tariq Thachil, Milan Vaishnav, Rahul Verma, Adam Ziegfeld
Perspectives on Politics (2022; v20/n1; p250-64)

Overcoming the Political Exclusion of Migrants: Theory and Experimental Evidence from India
w/ Nikhar Gaikwad
American Political Science Review (2021; v115/n4; p1129–46)
Honorable mention for the 2022 Lawrence Longley Award by the Representation and Electoral Systems Section of the American Political Science Association, for the best article published in the previous year

Do Politicians Discriminate Against Internal Migrants? Evidence from Nationwide Field Experiments in India
w/ Nikhar Gaikwad
American Journal of Political Science (2021; v65/n4; p790-806)

Does Electing Islamists Increase Religious Violence and Intolerance?
w/ Nicholas Kuipers, Michael Weaver
British Journal of Political Science (2021; v51/n3; p1340-47)

Information, Accountability, and Cumulative Learning: Lessons from Metaketa I
co-edited w/ Thad Dunning, Guy Grossman, Susan Hyde, Macartan Humphreys, Craig McIntosh
Cambridge University Press (2019)
Winner of the 2019 Best Book in Experimental Research award by the Experimental Research Section of the American Political Science Association

Voter Information Campaigns and Political Accountability: Cumulative Findings from a Preregistered Meta-analysis of Coordinated Trials w/ Thad Dunning, Guy Grossman, Susan Hyde, Macartan Humphreys, Craig McIntosh, Claire L. Adida, Eric Arias, Clara Bicalho, Taylor C. Boas, Mark T. Buntaine, Simon Chauchard, Anirvan Chowdhury, Jessica Gottlier, F. Daniel Hidalgo, Marcus Holmlund, Ryan Jablonski, Eric Kramon, Horacio Larreguy, Malte Lierl, John Marshall, Gwyneth McClendon, Marcus A. Melo, Daniel L. Nielson, Paula M. Pickering, Melina R. Platas, Pablo Querubin, Pia Raffler, Neelanjan Sircar
Science Advances (2019; v5/n7)

Secular Party Rule and Religious Violence in Pakistan
w/ Niloufer Siddiqui
American Political Science Review (2018; v112/n1; p49–67)

Do Parties Matter for Ethnic Violence?
w/ Michael Weaver, Steven Rosenzweig
Quarterly Journal of Political Science (2016; v11/n3; p249–77)

The Majority-Minority Divide in Attitudes Toward Internal Migration: Evidence from Mumbai
w/ Nikhar Gaikwad
American Journal of Political Science (2017; v61/n2; p456–72)