Ryan Jablonski

Associate Professor of Political Science
London School of Economics and Political Science

CV  Working Papers  Publications 
Email  Google Scholar  Twitter  LinkedIn

I am a political scientist at the LSE. I study the politics of public service delivery in low-income democracies. I am particularly interested in the ways in which politicians and voters learn about politics, service delivery and foreign aid. A lot of my work also focuses on the ways in which politicians and voters interact with foreign donors. I also study corruption, election fraud and piracy.

My major ongoing research programs study the causes and consequences of corruption in health supply chains; how politicians learn about constituency needs; how foreign aid impacts government spending; and how foreign aid impacts voting.

I teach courses on public policy, international development, comparative politics and research methods.

Publications

generated by bibbase.org
  2023 (1)
What politicians don't know can hurt you: The effects of information on politicians' spending decisions. Ryan Jablonski; and Brigitte Seim. American Political Science Review,1-21. 2023.
What politicians don't know can hurt you: The effects of information on politicians' spending decisions [link] paper   What politicians don't know can hurt you: The effects of information on politicians' spending decisions [link] pre-analysis plan   What politicians don't know can hurt you: The effects of information on politicians' spending decisions [link] data   link   bibtex   abstract   63 downloads  
  2021 (1)
Individualized text messages about public services fail to sway voters: evidence from a field experiment on Ugandan elections. Ryan S Jablonski; Mark T Buntaine; Daniel L Nielson; and Paula M Pickering. Journal of Experimental Political Science,1-13. 2021.
Individualized text messages about public services fail to sway voters: evidence from a field experiment on Ugandan elections [link] publication   Individualized text messages about public services fail to sway voters: evidence from a field experiment on Ugandan elections [pdf] ungated paper   Individualized text messages about public services fail to sway voters: evidence from a field experiment on Ugandan elections [link] data   Individualized text messages about public services fail to sway voters: evidence from a field experiment on Ugandan elections [link] pre-analysis plan   link   bibtex   abstract   14 downloads  
  2020 (1)
How information about foreign aid affects public spending decisions: Evidence from a field experiment in Malawi. Brigitte Seim; Ryan Jablonski; and Johan Ahlback. Journal of Development Economics. 2020.
How information about foreign aid affects public spending decisions: Evidence from a field experiment in Malawi [link] publication   How information about foreign aid affects public spending decisions: Evidence from a field experiment in Malawi [link] ungated paper   How information about foreign aid affects public spending decisions: Evidence from a field experiment in Malawi [link] data   How information about foreign aid affects public spending decisions: Evidence from a field experiment in Malawi [link] pre-analysis plan   link   bibtex   abstract   31 downloads  
  2019 (2)
Budgets, SMS Texts and Voting in Uganda. Mark Buntaine; Sarah Bush; Ryan Jablonski; Dan Neilson; and Paula Pickering. In Information, Accountability and Cumulative Learning. Cambridge University Press, 2019.
Budgets, SMS Texts and Voting in Uganda [link] publication   Budgets, SMS Texts and Voting in Uganda [link] ungated paper   Budgets, SMS Texts and Voting in Uganda [link] data   Budgets, SMS Texts and Voting in Uganda [link] pre-analysis plan   link   bibtex   2 downloads  
Voter information campaigns and political accountability: Cumulative findings from a preregistered meta-analysis of coordinated trials. Thad Dunning; Guy Grossman; Macartan Humphreys; Susan D Hyde; Craig McIntosh; Gareth Nellis; Claire L Adida; Eric Arias; Clara Bicalho; Taylor C Boas; and others. Science advances, 5(7). 2019.
Voter information campaigns and political accountability: Cumulative findings from a preregistered meta-analysis of coordinated trials [link] publication   Voter information campaigns and political accountability: Cumulative findings from a preregistered meta-analysis of coordinated trials [link] pre-analysis plan   Voter information campaigns and political accountability: Cumulative findings from a preregistered meta-analysis of coordinated trials [link] data   link   bibtex   abstract   4 downloads  
  2018 (2)
Surviving elections: Election violence, incumbent victory and post-election repercussions. Emilie M Hafner-Burton; Susan D Hyde; and Ryan S Jablonski. British Journal of Political Science, 48(2): 459-488. 2018.
Surviving elections: Election violence, incumbent victory and post-election repercussions [link] publication   Surviving elections: Election violence, incumbent victory and post-election repercussions [pdf] ungated paper   Surviving elections: Election violence, incumbent victory and post-election repercussions [link] data   link   bibtex   abstract   5 downloads  
SMS texts on corruption help Ugandan voters hold elected councillors accountable at the polls. Mark T Buntaine; Ryan Jablonski; Daniel L Nielson; and Paula M Pickering. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(26): 6668-6673. 2018.
SMS texts on corruption help Ugandan voters hold elected councillors accountable at the polls [link] publication   SMS texts on corruption help Ugandan voters hold elected councillors accountable at the polls [link] data   SMS texts on corruption help Ugandan voters hold elected councillors accountable at the polls [link] pre-analysis plan   link   bibtex   abstract   9 downloads  
  2017 (1)
The Tortuga disease: the perverse effects of illicit foreign capital. Steven Oliver; Ryan Jablonski; and Justin V Hastings. International Studies Quarterly, 61(2): 312-327. 2017.
The Tortuga disease: the perverse effects of illicit foreign capital [link] publication   The Tortuga disease: the perverse effects of illicit foreign capital [link] ungated paper   The Tortuga disease: the perverse effects of illicit foreign capital [link] data   The Tortuga disease: the perverse effects of illicit foreign capital [pdf] si   link   bibtex   6 downloads  
  2015 (1)
Did Aid Promote Democracy in Africa? The Role of Technical Assistance in Africa's Transitions. Clark C Gibson; Barak D. Hoffman; and Ryan S. Jablonski. World Development. 2015.
Did Aid Promote Democracy in Africa? The Role of Technical Assistance in Africa's Transitions [link] publication   Did Aid Promote Democracy in Africa? The Role of Technical Assistance in Africa's Transitions [pdf] ungated paper   Did Aid Promote Democracy in Africa? The Role of Technical Assistance in Africa's Transitions [link] data   link   bibtex   abstract   8 downloads  
  2014 (2)
When do governments resort to election violence?. Emilie M Hafner-Burton; Susan D Hyde; and Ryan S Jablonski. British Journal of Political Science, 44(1): 149-179. 2014.
When do governments resort to election violence? [link] publication   When do governments resort to election violence? [pdf] ungated paper   When do governments resort to election violence? [link] data   When do governments resort to election violence? [link] blog post   link   bibtex   abstract   4 downloads  
How Aid Target Votes: The Effect of Electoral Strategies on the Distribution of Foreign Aid. Ryan Jablonski. World Politics, 66(2): 293-330. 2014.
How Aid Target Votes: The Effect of Electoral Strategies on the Distribution of Foreign Aid [link] publication   How Aid Target Votes: The Effect of Electoral Strategies on the Distribution of Foreign Aid [link] ungated paper   How Aid Target Votes: The Effect of Electoral Strategies on the Distribution of Foreign Aid [pdf] si   How Aid Target Votes: The Effect of Electoral Strategies on the Distribution of Foreign Aid [link] data   link   bibtex   abstract   27 downloads  
  2013 (1)
The Political Economy of Plunder: Economic Opportunity and Modern Piracy. Ryan Jablonski; and Steven Oliver. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 57(4): 682-708. 2013.
The Political Economy of Plunder: Economic Opportunity and Modern Piracy [link] publication   The Political Economy of Plunder: Economic Opportunity and Modern Piracy [pdf] ungated paper   The Political Economy of Plunder: Economic Opportunity and Modern Piracy [pdf] si   The Political Economy of Plunder: Economic Opportunity and Modern Piracy [link] data   link   bibtex   abstract   9 downloads  

Working Papers

generated by bibbase.org
  2023 (4)
Using Remote Tracking Technologies to Audit and Understand Medicine Theft. Ryan Jablonski; Brigitte Seim; Clark Gibson; and Mariana Carvalho. 2023.
Using Remote Tracking Technologies to Audit and Understand Medicine Theft [link] paper   Using Remote Tracking Technologies to Audit and Understand Medicine Theft [link] pre-analysis plan   link   bibtex   abstract   19 downloads  
How corruption harms public health: An experimental impact evaluation of corruption in medicine procurement. Ryan Jablonski; Brigitte Seim; Clark Gibson; and Mariana Carvalho. 2023.
How corruption harms public health: An experimental impact evaluation of corruption in medicine procurement [link] pre-analysis plan   link   bibtex   abstract   1 download  
Foreign aid is neither a curse nor a blessing: Explaining the effects of foreign aid on voting behavior and accountability. Ryan Jablonski; Brigitte Seim; and Johan Ahlback. 2023.
Foreign aid is neither a curse nor a blessing: Explaining the effects of foreign aid on voting behavior and accountability [link] pre-analysis plan   link   bibtex   abstract   8 downloads  
How do we know if an election is stolen? Identifying human error and fraud in the 2019 Malawian election. Ryan Jablonski; and Johan Ahlback. 2023.
link   bibtex   abstract  
  2021 (1)
How Violence and Fraud Neutralize Information Effects on Turnout: A Field Experiment in Uganda. Ryan Jablonski; Mark Buntaine; Paula Pickering; and Daniel Nielson. 2021.
How Violence and Fraud Neutralize Information Effects on Turnout: A Field Experiment in Uganda [link] pre-analysis plan   How Violence and Fraud Neutralize Information Effects on Turnout: A Field Experiment in Uganda [link] paper   link   bibtex   abstract   11 downloads  
  undefined (1)
Dependency Politics: How Foreign Aid Shapes Electoral Behavior author= Jablonski, Ryan, year=2025, abstract=In poor democracies, it is hard for politicians to meet voter demands for new public services and infrastructure. For many politicians, building relationships with donors and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) offers a solution to this dilemma: Unlike governments, donors oversee budgets that are focused on high-demand social services and infrastructure like schools and public health facilities. Many politicians therefore choose to work with donors as an alternative to more traditional forms of policymaking and service delivery. This book investigates these relationships between donors and politicians and the consequences of these relationships for electoral politics in contemporary aid-dependent democracies. Drawing on over six years of fieldwork, especially in Malawi, as well as formal theory, the book shows how aid dependence changes how voters assess politician performance and how politicians make policy. The book revisits assumptions about the effects of foreign aid on incumbency and shows how the electoral effects of aid depend on voter beliefs and donor choices. The book also clarifies the conditions under which aid harms electoral accountability and democratic development: it shows how foreign aid can cause citizens to vote against their interests. However, it also shows how voters use foreign aid to make more accurate inferences about politician performance and effort in fiscally constrained environments. This book relies on original surveys with politicians and aid recipients, interviews with donors and public officials, focus group discussions with voters, and field experiments. . . .
link   bibtex  

CV  Working Papers  Publications