Member of the Global Faculty

Professor of Economics and Political Science, Vanderbuilt University

Mattias Polborn is Professor of Economics and Political Science, and holder of the E. Bronson Ingram Chair in Economics at Vanderbilt University. He graduated in 1995 as Diplom-Volkswirt from the University of Munich, where he also obtained his Ph.D. in 1998. He has been on faculty at the University of Western Ontario (Canada) and at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He joined Vanderbilt University in 2016.

Polborn’s research interests lie in political economy, specifically the game-theoretic analysis of political institutions and elections. He is particularly interested in understanding candidate competition and political polarization. His research has been published in some of the leading journals in both economics and political science. He has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of the European Economic Association, Social Choice and Welfare, the Journal of Theoretical Politics and Economics of Governance.

 
Representative publications:

• W. Howell, S. Krasa and M.Polborn, "Political Conflict over Time", American Journal of Political Science, (2020, forthcoming)
• S. Krasa and M. Polborn, “Political  Competition  in  Legislative  Elections”, American Political Science Review, 112 (2018):  809–825. 
• M. Polborn and J. Snyder,  “Party Polarization in Legislatures with Office-Motivated Candidates”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 132 (2017):  1509–1550. 
• G. Deltas, H. Herrera and M. Polborn,  “Learning  and  coordination  in  the  Presidential  primary  system”, Review of Economic Studies, 83 (2016):  1544-1578. 
• S. Krasa and M. Polborn, “Social ideology and taxes in a differentiated candidates framework”, American Economic Review, 104 (2014), 308-22. 

Contribution to KPA II:

Mattias Polborn has worked on wide array of topics in political economy, applied game theory and industrial economics. His recent work focusses is on political competition and the design of political institutions. For instance, he has worked on the emergence and the consequences of political polarization, populism and terrorism. These themes are also at the core of the "Political Economy" Research Area of  ECONtribute: Markets and Public Policy.