Jonathan A. Rodden

Jonathan Rodden is professor of political science and senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research and the Hoover Institution. His research focuses on the interaction between political institutions and economic and political geography. Much of his work relies on the analysis of large geo-spatial data sets. His award-winning first book, Hamilton’s Paradox: The Promise and Peril of Fiscal Federalism, explored fiscal relations between central, provincial, and local governments around the world. Rodden continues to work on policy questions related to federalism and fiscal decentralization.

His most recent book, Why Cities Lose: The Deep Roots of the Urban-Rural Political Divide, explains the rise and transformation of geographic political polarization since the industrial revolution, and explores how the urban-rural divide shapes contemporary political representation. Some of his current research focuses on the political implications of technological changes that have transformed labor markets and led to growing geographic concentration of prosperity within countries.

Photo Credit: Linda A. Cicero