Avidit Acharya
Professor of Political Science, by courtesy, of Political Economics at the Graduate School of Business and Senior Fellow, by courtesy, at the Hoover Institution
Bio
Avi Acharya is a professor of political science at Stanford University; a professor, by courtesy, of political economy at the Stanford Graduate School of Business; and senior fellow, by courtesy, at the Hoover Institution. He works in the fields of political economy and formal political theory.
His first book, Deep Roots: How Slavery Still Shapes Southern Politics (Princeton University Press, 2018), received the William H. Riker Award for the best book in political economy in 2019. His second book, The Cartel System of States: An Economic Theory of International Politics (Oxford University Press, 2023), provides a new understanding of the territorial state system as it developed through time and exists today.
His papers have been published in both economics and political science journals and have received awards such as the Elinor Ostrom best paper award, the Gosnell Prize in political methodology, and the Joseph Bernd best paper award. He is an editor at the journal Social Choice and Welfare and an advisory editor at Games and Economic Behavior.
He earned a PhD in political economy from Princeton University in 2012 and a BA in economics and mathematics from Yale University in 2006. Before joining the Stanford faculty, he taught in the economics and political science departments of the University of Rochester.
Professional Education
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PhD, Princeton University, Political Economy (2012)
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BA, Yale University, Economics and Mathematics (2006)
2024-25 Courses
- Formal Theory I
POLISCI 356A (Aut) - Formal Theory II
POLISCI 356B (Win) - The Science of Politics
POLISCI 1 (Win) -
Independent Studies (6)
- Advanced Individual Study in Political Methodology
POLISCI 359 (Spr) - Directed Reading and Research in Comparative Politics
POLISCI 249 (Spr) - Directed Reading and Research in Comparative Politics
POLISCI 349 (Spr) - Directed Reading and Research in International Relations
POLISCI 219 (Spr) - Directed Reading and Research in International Relations
POLISCI 319 (Aut, Spr) - Directed Reading and Research in Political Methodology
POLISCI 259 (Spr)
- Advanced Individual Study in Political Methodology
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Prior Year Courses
2023-24 Courses
- Formal Theory II
POLISCI 356B (Spr) - Strategy: Introduction to Game Theory
POLISCI 153, POLISCI 354 (Sum) - The Science of Politics
POLISCI 1 (Spr) - Workshop in Political Methodology
POLISCI 353C (Spr)
2022-23 Courses
- Formal Theory I
POLISCI 356A (Aut) - Formal Theory II
POLISCI 356B (Win) - Strategy: Introduction to Game Theory
POLISCI 153, POLISCI 354 (Win)
2021-22 Courses
- Comparative Political Economy
POLISCI 440B (Win) - Economic Analysis of Political Institutions
POLISCI 351B (Win) - Economic Analysis of Politics
POLECON 681 (Win) - Formal Theory I
POLISCI 356A (Win) - Formal Theory II
POLISCI 356B (Spr) - Strategy: Introduction to Game Theory
POLISCI 153Z (Sum)
- Formal Theory II
Stanford Advisees
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Doctoral Dissertation Reader (AC)
Matthew Ribar -
Doctoral Dissertation Advisor (AC)
Benjamin Tremblay-Auger -
Doctoral (Program)
Aleksandre Sharashenidze, Denis Tchaouchev, Phedias Theophanous, Tomer Zaidman
All Publications
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Political accountability under moral hazard
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
2024
View details for DOI 10.1111/ajps.12860
View details for Web of Science ID 001196041500001
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Electoral Campaigns as Dynamic Contests
JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION
2024
View details for DOI 10.1093/jeea/jvae006
View details for Web of Science ID 001175613100001
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Paths to the Frontier
AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-MICROECONOMICS
2022; 14 (1): 39-69
View details for DOI 10.1257/mic.20190125
View details for Web of Science ID 000751668100002
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Combining Outcome-Based and Preference-Based Matching: A Constrained Priority Mechanism
POLITICAL ANALYSIS
2022; 30 (1): 89-112
View details for DOI 10.1017/pan.2020.48
View details for Web of Science ID 000732830300007
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Security in the absence of a state: Traditional authority, livestock trading, and maritime piracy in northern Somalia
JOURNAL OF THEORETICAL POLITICS
2020
View details for DOI 10.1177/0951629820941110
View details for Web of Science ID 000556266200001
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Path Dependence in European Development: Medieval Politics, Conflict, and State Building
COMPARATIVE POLITICAL STUDIES
2019; 52 (13-14): 2171–2206
View details for DOI 10.1177/0010414019830716
View details for Web of Science ID 000487028700007
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A Behavioral Foundation for Audience Costs
QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
2019; 14 (2): 159–90
View details for DOI 10.1561/100.00017124
View details for Web of Science ID 000464074500002
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Analyzing Causal Mechanisms in Survey Experiments
POLITICAL ANALYSIS
2018; 26 (4): 357–78
View details for DOI 10.1017/pan.2018.19
View details for Web of Science ID 000446677500001
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Economic Foundations of the Territorial State System
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
2018; 62 (4): 954–66
View details for DOI 10.1111/ajps.12379
View details for Web of Science ID 000447747000012
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Explaining Preferences from Behavior: A Cognitive Dissonance Approach
JOURNAL OF POLITICS
2018; 80 (2): 400–411
View details for DOI 10.1086/694541
View details for Web of Science ID 000429247100013
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"Sons of the soil': A model of assimilation and population control
JOURNAL OF THEORETICAL POLITICS
2018; 30 (2): 184–223
View details for DOI 10.1177/0951629817737858
View details for Web of Science ID 000430072400002
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Progressive Learning
ECONOMETRICA
2017; 85 (6): 1965–90
View details for DOI 10.3982/ECTA14718
View details for Web of Science ID 000417101400011
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Sincere voting in large elections
GAMES AND ECONOMIC BEHAVIOR
2017; 101: 121-131
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.geb.2016.03.010
View details for Web of Science ID 000398014300009
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Information aggregation failure in a model of social mobility
GAMES AND ECONOMIC BEHAVIOR
2016; 100: 257-272
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.geb.2016.09.006
View details for Web of Science ID 000390503900016
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Explaining Causal Findings Without Bias: Detecting and Assessing Direct Effects
AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENCE REVIEW
2016; 110 (3): 512-529
View details for DOI 10.1017/S0003055416000216
View details for Web of Science ID 000388210200007
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The Political Legacy of American Slavery
JOURNAL OF POLITICS
2016; 78 (3): 621-641
View details for DOI 10.1086/686631
View details for Web of Science ID 000378728000011
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Caste, corruption and political competition in India
RESEARCH IN ECONOMICS
2015; 69 (3): 336–52
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.rie.2015.02.001
View details for Web of Science ID 000438455700005
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Multidimensional poverty with missing attributes
ECONOMICS LETTERS
2015; 130: 51-55
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.econlet.2015.02.033
View details for Web of Science ID 000354501300014
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War with Crazy Types
POLITICAL SCIENCE RESEARCH AND METHODS
2015; 3 (2): 281–307
View details for DOI 10.1017/psrm.2014.23
View details for Web of Science ID 000218594600009
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Delays and partial agreements in multi-issue bargaining
JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC THEORY
2013; 148 (5): 2150-2163
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jet.2013.07.008
View details for Web of Science ID 000326206400016
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The Calculus of the Security Dilemma
QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
2013; 8 (2): 183-203
View details for DOI 10.1561/100.00011066
View details for Web of Science ID 000318460900004
- The Maoist Insurgency and Political Economy of Violence Acharya The Maoist Insurgency in Nepal: Revolution in the twenty-first century edited by Lawoti, M. Routledge. 2009; 1