Dr Nelson Ruiz
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Email
nelson.ruiz@essex.ac.uk -
Location
5.420, Colchester Campus
Profile
Biography
Welcome to my website, I am a Senior Lecturer (≈ Associate Professor), Head of the Political Economy Research Division in the Government Department at the University of Essex, and Senior Visiting Fellow at the LSE Government Department. I am also an Associate Member at Nuffield College University of Oxford, a Research Associate at the Department of Politics and International Relations (DPIR), and a Research Associate at Oxford's Latin American Centre. My research interests are in the political economy of development. Within this field, the main topic I am interested in is the role of money in politics and how policies can curve or exacerbate the influence of money in politics. I am also interested in studying corruption and political selection. My research involves the use of causal inference methods, and some data science tools. Before academia, I worked at the Inter-American Development Bank as a research fellow evaluating development projects in the field across Latin America.
Qualifications
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PhD London School of Economics, (2018)
Appointments
University of Essex
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Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, Department of Government at the University of Essex. (1/10/2022 - 1/10/2024)
Teaching and supervision
Current teaching responsibilities
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Applied Research Design (GV915)
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Introduction to Quantitative Methods and Data Analysis II (GV950)
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Advanced Quantitative Methods (GV953)
Publications
Publications (2)
Robinson, TS., Ruiz, NA. and Ocantos, EG., (2023). Mind and machine: rooting out corrupt politicians
De Magalhães, L., Hangartner, D., Hirvonen, S., Meriläinen, J., Ruiz, N. and Tukiainen, J., (2020). How Much Should We Trust Regression Discontinuity Design Estimates? Evidence from Experimental Benchmarks of the Incumbency Advantage
Journal articles (8)
Ruiz, N. and Rueda, M., How Do Electoral Outcomes Affect Campaign Contributions? The Role of Personal Loyalty and Investment Motives. British Journal of Political Science
De Magalhães, L., Hangartner, D., Hirvonen, S., Meriläinen, J., Ruiz, NA. and Tukiainen, J., (2025). When Can We Trust Regression Discontinuity Design Estimates from Close Elections? Evidence from Experimental Benchmarks. Political Analysis, 1-8
De Magalhães, L., Hangartner, D., Hirvonen, S., Meriläinen, J., RUIZ, N. and Tukiainen, J., (2025). How Much Should We Trust Regression Discontinuity Design Estimates? Evidence from Experimental Benchmarks of the Incumbency Advantage. Political Analysis
Harding, R., Prem, M., Ruiz, N. and Vargas, D., (2023). Buying a Blind Eye: Campaign Donations, Forbearance, and Deforestation in Colombia. American Political Science Review. 118 (2), 635-653
Gulzar, S., Rueda, MR. and Ruiz, NA., (2022). Do Campaign Contribution Limits Curb the Influence of Money in Politics?. American Journal of Political Science. 66 (4), 932-946
Gulzar, S., Robinson, TS. and Ruiz, NA., (2022). How Campaigns Respond to Ballot Position: A New Mechanism for Order Effects. The Journal of Politics. 84 (2), 1256-1261
Fergusson, L., Querubin, P., Ruiz, NA. and Vargas, JF., (2021). The Real Winner's Curse. American Journal of Political Science. 65 (1), 52-68
Rueda, MR. and Ruiz, NA., (2020). Political Agency, Election Quality, and Corruption. The Journal of Politics. 82 (4), 1256-1270
Reports and Papers (2)
Hangartner, D., Ruiz, N. and Tukiainen, J., Open or Closed? How List Type Affects Electoral Performance, Candidate Selection, and Campaign Effort
Ruiz, NA., The Power of Money. The Consequences of Electing a Donor Funded Politician
Grants and funding
2022
Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship
Leverhulme Trust
