Paru Shah's research is focused on the impact of minority representation on public policy outcomes. Her dissertation, titled “The Politics and Policy Implications of Latino Representation in Education,” focuses on the effect of varying levels and types of Latino school board representation on education policy. The result is a body of scholarship that makes clearer the link between representation and public policy in general and of the factors that influence the quality and nature of education policy in particular. Shah began teaching at Macalester in 2006. EDUCATION: B.A., University of Michigan; M.A., University of Illinois; Ph.D., Rice University
Journal Articles
Racing towards Representation: A Hurdle Model of Latinos and School Boards, American Politics Research (2010)
The New Racial Calculus: Electoral Institutions and Black Representation in Local Legislatures (with Melissa J. Marschall and Anirudh V.S. Ruhil), American Journal of Political Science (2010)
Motivating Participation: Estimating the Impact of Symbolic Representation on Latino Parent Involvement, Social Science Quarterly (2009)
The Attitudinal Effects of Minority Incorporation: Examining the Racial Dimensions of Trust in Urban America (with Melissa Marschall), Urban Affairs Review (2007)
Keeping Policy Churn Off the Agenda: Urban Education and Civic Capacity (with Melissa Marschall), Policy Studies Journal (2005)
Contributions to Books