Assistant Professor Pawel Charasz from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in Shenzhen will be visiting the department in February. During his stay, he will give a research talk with the title "Burghers into Peasants: Political Economy of City Status in Congress Poland”.

The talk takes place on Wednesday, February 18, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM in the large meeting room next to the Lounge.

About Pawel Charasz

Pawel Charasz has published in the Journal of Politics and European Union Politics, and he is the recipient of the SAGE Award for the Best Article Published in European Union Politics in 2021.

His current research broadly deals with three topics:

1. How historical collective action shapes norms of cooperation within communities.
2. The long-run persistence of social status and elite advantage across generations.
3. How perceptions of threat shape democratic attitudes and the willingness of citizens to engage in trade-offs between civil liberties and policy efficacy.

Research talk abstract

Why has urban self-government resulted in commercial expansion and long-run growth in some settings, and oligarchic capture and stagnation in others? To reconcile these divergent outcomes, I theorize that the consequences of urban self-government depend on how it reconfigures political-economic alignment and institutional impartiality – specifically, whether governing elites internalize urban economic development and are constrained by impartial institutions. I test this argument using original town-level data from an 1869 reform in Congress Poland that differentially restructured governance across 452 cities: three-quarters were newly subjected to local self-government that enfranchised landed elites while excluding urban elites, while the remainder retained appointed administration. Consistent with the theory, the introduction of misaligned and captured self-government was associated with fewer public goods, weaker rule of law, slower population growth and lower rates of industrialization. Inclusive institutions that empower misaligned elites and weaken institutional impartiality can undermine, rather than promote, urban development.

Meeting with Pawel Charasz

If you would like to meet with Pawel for a one-on-one meeting on Tuesday, February 17, you can sign up via the following Doodle sheet:

All are welcome. No registration needed.