Job Market Candidates

I am a PhD Candidate in the Department of Political Science at Stanford University. I study conflict, development, and international economics, with an empirical focus on Chinese development aid. My dissertation explores how domestic politics shape the distribution of Chinese aid in both China and recipient countries. I hold an MA in international policy from Stanford University and a BA in political science from the University of Southern California. Prior to doctoral studies, I was a Research Specialist at the Empirical Studies of Conflict (ESOC) project at Princeton University.

I am a Ph.D. candidate in political science at Purdue University. My research agenda focuses on international political economy, inclusive development, and technology in international organizations. My dissertation explores how gendered economic ideas are created and changed among international institutions in the fields of development finance, public health, and digital inclusion. Additionally, I am also interested in the use of AI by international actors in global economic governance and elite decision-making. I use a variety of methodological tools in my research, including interviews, computational text analysis, and survey experiments.

My name is Yujin Zhang 张宇津. I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Political Science at Columbia University. I am interested in how individuals' political attitudes and behaviors are shaped by personal experiences, particularly their economic backgrounds. My research focuses on the political consequences of changing economic conditions, particularly those related to international trade, immigration, and economic crises.

I am a PhD candidate in the Department of Politics at the University of Virginia (UVa), expecting to defend my dissertation in May 2026. My research interests are motivated by my passion for economic development and human rights. I study international political economy and comparative politics, focusing on how emerging technologies enhance inclusion and opportunity while reshaping citizen-state relationships, especially in emerging economies. My doctoral research, which has informed the development and teaching of a specialized course on the political economy of fintech, reveals that politics influences financial technology adoption, ultimately impacting development and inclusion. Beyond the political roots of financial behavior, my research explores how states govern emerging technologies. Why do countries differ in their regulation of innovation? I also aim to extend my fintech frameworks to other emerging technologies. I am fluent in English, French, Arabic and have full proficiency in Spanish.

I am a PhD candidate at the University of California, San Diego, in a joint program with the School of Global Policy and Strategy (expected 2026), and a predoctoral fellow at the University of Mannheim. I study the intersection of international political economy and international organizations, with a focus on human rights, international trade, international law, the European Union, and the governance of artificial intelligence through the lens of human rights and economic integration. My job market paper, "Illiberal Human Rights Norms in Trade and the Effectiveness of Western Conditionalities", examines how emerging alternative trade networks undermine the effect of EU human rights conditionalities in trade. My dissertation investigates international and domestic institutional dynamics that shape and undermine liberal international norms through economic integration and trade networks. I use mixed methods, including original panel data analysis, text analysis, causal inference, and qualitative case studies.

I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Wilf Family Department of Politics at New York University (NYU). I study the political economy of sovereign finance, with a special focus on sub-Saharan Africa. My research focuses on the strategic trade-offs across sovereign finance instruments such as bonds and foreign aid, the drivers behind sovereign financing decisions, and the downstream consequences of diverse access to creditors. My dissertation offers new explanations for recent rises in sovereign debt burden in sub-Saharan Africa and explores the domestic and international political drivers behind the shift from traditional instruments to market instruments.