Economic Inequality in the Rentier State

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Just published (online) in Political Research Quarterly is a coauthored paper that assesses the effects of perceived inequalities in distribution of welfare benefits in rentier states.  That is, does it matter that some rentier citizens receive more financial patronage than others, so long as everyone is rich in absolute terms?  The answer, as one might expect but contrary to classical rentier theory, is yes. We use data from a 2013 national survey of Qatari citizens conducted by my institute, SESRI, to show that perceived unfairness in distribution—both among citizens and between citizens and expatriates—dampens satisfaction with the rentier subsidies that people do receive.  More specifically, Qataris who perceive high levels of distributional unfairness report substantially lower satisfaction with state benefits, irrespective of their objective wealth (household income). 

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Welcome

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I am [update: was ] a political scientist who studies the micro-foundations of political behavior in the Arab Gulf states using original public opinion data and survey experiments.  Substantively, my work has investigated a wide range of topics, including the rentier state and its reform, voting behavior, the political economy of sectarianism, social movements, youth politics, anti-immigrant sentiment, migrant experience and integration, cultural barriers to female labor force participation, and drivers of honor-based gender violence. I am also interested in the e ffects of Middle East authoritarianism on public participation in opinion research and popular conceptualizations of public opinion itself. I am [update: was ] an Associate Research Professor at the Social and Economic Survey Research Institute (SESRI) at Qatar University, where I have been based since completing my Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of Michigan in 2011. In Fall 2020 and 2021, I am also Visitin
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