User:Krastan03

About Me

I am Associate Professor of Political Science (Ph.D. 2013, New York University) in the Social and Behavioral Sciences Department at the Toulouse School of Economics and Quantitative Social Sciences (TSE) and a member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST) in Toulouse, France. In 2017, I was named an Andrew Carnegie Fellow for excellance in research. Previously I was an Assistant Professor at Vanderbilt University in the Political Science Department.

My research investigates sources of, and solutions to, intergroup tensions and poorly functioning democratic processes in contexts where government institutions are not adequately safeguarding democracy and delivering vital public services. I have mainly focused on the effects of political competition (e.g., electoral cycle effects, coups), political information (e.g., civil society and mass-media interventions), and intergroup inequality (e.g., on the basis of partisanship, gender, ethnicity, and immigration status) on these outcomes.

Much of my work couples experimental methodology with surveys and collection of behavioral data. I am a member of Evidence in Governance and Politics (EGAP), a global research, evaluation, and learning network bringing together academics, policy-makers, and donors to promote evidence-based policy. For many projects, I partner with NGOs and donors to investigate policy programming through randomized controlled trials (field experiments). Such research demonstrates my two major goals as a scholar: to advance our knowledge of social science by testing theoretically-driven hypotheses and to learn which policy programs are most effective in improving the well-being of citizens. This work has been awarded over $1.5 million in research funding.

I have collaborated with Wikiedu to do individual student term projects to create or improve the content of Wikipedia in both undergraduate (e.g., African Politics, Ethnic Politics) and graduate classes (e.g., Accountability and Representation, Aid Effectiveness).

Another interest of mine is in improving pages for prominent female political scientists in a way that is useful for laypersons to know about their professional achievements and research contributions to the discipline. The reason is that "notable people" pages are overwhelmingly male on Wikipedia (over 80%), and many women are missing from the list of political scientists. It is important that female scientists are included, not only for intrinsic purposes, but also because it provides a role model function for girls and boys in whether females can and do make important discoveries in diverse scientific disciplines.

Conflict of interest statement

I am a faculty member at Toulouse School of Economics and Quantitative Social Sciences in the Social and Behavioral Sciences Department. My specific responsibilities include conducting research, teaching, and university service.

Wikipedia editing is not a part of my formal job description, and my Wikipedia edits do not represent the views of my employer in any official capacity. However, my contributions to Wikipedia may from time to time reference people, organizations, resources, or holdings associated with Toulouse School of Economics. They may also regard other people in my discipline who conduct research in areas close to my expertise, since I am familiar with their work and can synthesize it effectively. When making edits, I pledge to abide by Wikipedia policies and guidelines, including those on WP:COI, WP:RS, WP:V, and WP:NPOV; to further the goals and mission of Wikipedia first and foremost; and to contribute relevant, reliable information. If at any time my contributions appear to be in violation of Wikipedia community norms, I ask that other editors not hesitate to contact me via my user talk page.