I am an Associate Professor of Political Science at The University of Texas at El Paso. My research areas are democratic political institutions, democratization, legislative politics, electoral systems, corruption, and comparative and international political economy. I am particularly interested in the issues of governability, quality of democracy, accountability, and representation. My research seeks to shed light into these important questions by examining how various formal and informal institutions create different incentives and constraints for political actors and how these differing conditions generate varying social, economic, and political outcomes.
Articles
Governability and Accountability in Brazil: Dilemma of Coalitional Presidentialism, The Journal of Social Science (2013)
This article seeks to answer an important puzzle in Brazilian politics: What explains the legislative...
Causes and Triggers of Coups d'état: An Event History Analysis (with Sawa Omori), Politics & Policy (2013)
What explains the propensities of countries to experience coups d'état? This article tests various, at...
Electoral Systems and Congressional Malfeasance: Comparing Brazilian Senators and Deputies in the Supreme Court Cases, Revista Conexão Política (2013)
This article contributes to our understanding of the relationship between electoral systems and legislative malfeasance...
Malapportionment and Geographical Bases of Electoral Support in the Brazilian Senate (with Pedro Neiva), Journal of Politics in Latin America (2013)
This paper analyzes the relationship between malapportionment and electoral bases of support for Brazilian senators....
Exchange Rate Regime, Central Bank Independence, and Political Business Cycles in Brazil, Studies in Comparative International Development (2009)
This article examines policy consequences of electoral cycles and exchange rate regime choices in Brazil....
Book Chapters
Breakdown of Democracy, World Democracy: From Ancient Times to the People's Revolutions of the 21st Century (2013)
Central Bank Independence in Words and in Deeds: Lessons from Brazil and Chile (with Douglas Block), Central Banking and Globalization (2010)
Political independence of the central bank is considered to bring financial stability to a nation...