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

OpenURL

Racing towards Representation: A Hurdle Model of Latinos and School Boards, American Politics Research (2010)
 

OpenURL

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)
 

OpenURL

Motivating Participation: Estimating the Impact of Symbolic Representation on Latino Parent Involvement, Social Science Quarterly (2009)
 

OpenURL

The Attitudinal Effects of Minority Incorporation: Examining the Racial Dimensions of Trust in Urban America (with Melissa Marschall), Urban Affairs Review (2007)
 

OpenURL

Keeping Policy Churn Off the Agenda: Urban Education and Civic Capacity (with Melissa Marschall), Policy Studies Journal (2005)
 

Contributions to Books

The Latino Student-Teacher Gap in Immigrant Gateways: Structural Constraints and Policy Solutions (with Melissa Marschall), The Politics of Latino Education (2010)