Department of Political Science
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Benjamin Ansell

Curriculum Vitae

Department Affiliations

Political Science

Narrative

Ben W. Ansell is an Associate Professor of Political Science. His academic interests include a variety of issues in political economy, including both comparative politics and international relations. His recent works focus on the politics of education policy, the relationship between inequality and democracy, and on the effects of asset price inflation on political preferences.

Professor Ansell is the author of From the Ballot to the Blackboard (Cambridge University Press, 2010). He has published articles on education policy in World Politics and International Organization and on inequality and democracy in Comparative Political Studies. His new book, Social Policy in Small European States (co-edited with Gary Cohen, Robert Cox and Jane Gingrich) is forthcoming from Berghahn Books in 2011.

Specialties

International political economy and comparative political economy, with specific focus on examining the political economy of human capital

Educational Background

Ph.D.: Government, Harvard University, 2006.
MA: Political Science , University of California, Berkeley, 2002.
MA: History, University of Manchester, 1999.
BA (Hons): History, University of Manchester, 1998.

Publications

Preferences in Context: Micro-Preferences, Macro_contexts, and the Demand for Social Policy: Ansell, Benjamin, Jane Gingrich, Comparative Political Studies, 10 , 2013.
Social Policy in Small European States Cohen, Gary, Ben Ansell, Robert Cox, and Jane Gingrich (eds.), 2011, Berghahn Books, NY. In production.
From the Ballot to the Blackboard: The Redistributive Political Economy of Education, 2010, Cambridge University Press, Studies in Comparative Politics series.
“˜Inequality and Democratization: A Contractarian Approach’, with David Samuels, Comparative Political Studies, December 2010.
“˜University Challenges: Explaining Institutional Change in Higher Education’. World Politics, January 2008.
“˜Teachers, Traders, and Tyrants: Democracy, Globalization and Education Spending’. International Organization, Spring 2008.