Political Economy · Columbia University
Carlo
Prato
Welcome to my website. I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Columbia University, where I also serve as Deputy Chair. I received a PhD in Economics from Northwestern University in 2012, which makes me an immigrant in two ways. Between 2012 and 2016, I was an Assistant Professor in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. I also held positions at Princeton University and Stanford University. In my research, I study how electoral and legislative institutions shape governance.
In progress
Current research
Work on electoral systems, democratic accountability, parties, and political institutions.
Recruiting and Incentivizing Service Providers: Experimental Evidence from Sierra Leone, with Maarten Voors, Macartan Humphreys, Salif Jaiteh, Niccolo Meriggi, and Peter Van der Windt
Party Factions and Candidate Selection, with Christine Bangum, Jon Fiva, Giovanna Invernizzi, and Janne Tukiainen
Electoral Systems and Democratic Backsliding, with Andrew Little and Sean Gailmard
[Draft Coming Soon]Learning from the Lie: What Do Voters Infer from Anti-Democratic Proposals? with Patrick Liu and Daniel Markovits
[Draft Coming Soon]Double-Crossed? Strategic Endorsements in Ranked-Choice Elections, with Peter Buisseret and Jack Santucci
[Draft Coming Soon]Electoral Competition, Turnout, and Ranked Choice Voting, with Peter Buisseret
Selected record
Publications
Published and forthcoming work, with papers and supplementary materials linked where available.
Executive Power and the Internal Organization of Legislatures, with Costel Andonie and Daniel Diermeier
Conditionally Accepted, American Journal of Political SciencePolitics Transformed? Electoral Competition under Ranked Choice Voting, with Peter Buisseret
Forthcoming, American Journal of Political Science
Winner of the 2023 “Best APSA Paper Award,” APSA Formal Theory SectionThe Institutional Foundations of the Power to Persuade, with Ian Turner
American Journal of Political Science, 2026, 70(1): 120-135Financial Regulatory Cycles: A Political Economy Model, with Pooya Almasi and Jihad Dagher
Journal of Financial Intermediation, 2025, 63: 101164Bending the Iron Law, with Giovanna Invernizzi
American Journal of Political Science, 2025, 69(2): 748-762Theories of Democratic Backsliding, with Edoardo Grillo, Zhaotian Luo, and Monika Nalepa
Annual Review of Political Science, 2024, 27: 381-400The Effect of Sustained Transparency on Electoral Accountability, with Guy Grossman and Kristin Michelitch
American Journal of Political Science, 2024, 68(3): 1022-1040
Pre-Analysis Plan –Supplemental Appendix – Policy BriefReference Points and Democratic Backsliding, with Edoardo Grillo
American Journal of Political Science, 2023, 67(1): 71-88
Winner of the 2024 “Best Article Award,” APSA Formal Theory SectionWisdom of the Crowd? Information Aggregation in Representative Democracy, with Stephane Wolton
Games and Economic Behavior, 2022, 135: 86-95
Supplemental AppendixParty Nomination Strategies in List Proportional Representation Systems, with Peter Buisseret, Olle Folke, and Johanna Rickne
American Journal of Political Science, 2022, 66(3): 714-729
An earlier version won the “CQ Press Award” for best paper on legislative studies at APSA 2018Competing Principals? Legislative Representation in List PR Systems, with Peter Buisseret
American Journal of Political Science, 2022, 66(1): 156-170After Citizens United: How Outside Spending Shapes American Democracy, with Nour Abdul-Razzak and Stephane Wolton
Electoral Studies, 2020, 67: 102-190
Monkey cage post – Replication MaterialsVoting Behavior under Proportional Representation, with Peter Buisseret
Journal of Theoretical Politics, 2020, 32(1): 96-111Self-Enforcing Partisan Procedures, with Daniel Diermeier and Razvan Vlaicu
Journal of Politics, 2020, 82(3): 937-954Campaign Cost and Electoral Accountability, with Stephane Wolton
Political Science Research and Methods, 2019, 7(1): 1-21
Appendix – Blog post – Replication: Do, Dta (Stata 13) – Data construction: Do (Publicly available data sets: 1, 2, 3)Rational Ignorance, Populism, and Reform, with Stephane Wolton
European Journal of Political Economy, 2018, 55: 119-135
Supplemental Appendix – Blog postElectoral Imbalances and their Consequences, with Stephane Wolton
Journal of Politics, 2018, 80(4): 1168-1182
Supplemental AppendixElectoral Competition and Policy Feedback Effects
Journal of Politics, 2018, 80(1): 195-210Citizens United: A Theoretical Evaluation, with Stephane Wolton
Political Science Research and Methods, 2017, 5(3): 567-574The Hidden Cost of Direct Democracy, with Bruno Strulovici
Journal of Theoretical Politics, 2017, 29(3): 440-466A Bargaining Model of Endogenous Procedures, with Daniel Diermeier and Razvan Vlaicu
Social Choice and Welfare, 2016, 47(4): 985–1012The Voters’ Curses: Why we Need Goldilocks Voters, with Stephane Wolton
American Journal of Political Science, 2016, 60(3): 726-737
Supplemental Appendix – Additional Proofs – ExtensionsElectoral Control and the Human Capital of Politicians, with Peter Buisseret
Games and Economic Behavior, 2016 98: 34-55
Blog postProcedural Choice in Majoritarian Organizations, with Daniel Diermeier and Razvan Vlaicu
American Journal of Political Science, 2015, 54(4): 866-879
Supplemental Appendix
Columbia
Teaching
Graduate formal theory and undergraduate political economy.