Erik Wibbels

Erik Wibbels is professor of political science at Duke University and the co-general editor of the Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics series. His research focuses on development, redistribution and political geography and has been published by Cambridge University Press, World Politics, International Organization, American Journal of Political Science, American Political Science Review and other journals. He also works with bilateral and multilateral donors to improve the design and evaluation of governance programming.

Current major projects include an attempt to combine surveys and satellite imagery to identify slums in India and understand the conditions under which residents achieve formal recognition and successfully attract public services; an impact evaluation of a large, district-level governance program in Ghana; and work on how the geographic emergence and spread of state authority impact long-term economic development at the local level.