Research
Research
Business Elites Navigating Non-Business-Friendly Partisan Environment
Dissertation Paper. Presented at MPSA 2025.
Explaining Sectoral Variation in Business Interest in Engaging with Local Governments
Dissertation Paper.
The Pro-Market Legacy of the Pinochet Regime
with Pablo Argote. Presented at MPSA 2025.
The Executive Communications Dataset
with Joshua F. Allen, Ryan E. Carlin, Cecilia Martinez-Gallardo, Juan Gomez-Cruces, Will Horne, and Miles Massey
Social Unrest, Elite Cues and Support for Democracy: Evidence from Chile
with Isabella Randle. Presented at APSA 2024.
La fragilidad de los consensos. Polarización ideológica en el Chile post Pinochet. (with Jorge Fábrega and Jorge González) Revista de Ciencia Política. 2019.
This article presents evidence of political, socioeconomic and generational polarization among the Chilean population between 1990 and 2017. Using data from the Public Opinion Survey of the CEP, the ideology of the individuals is estimated indirectly using the methodology developed by Poole (1998). The main findings are the following: (i) in 1993, adherents and opponents of the current government initiated a process of ideological distancing that was consolidated in mid-2008; (ii) the ideological distance between high and low socioeco-nomic levels began to increase from 2005 onwards; and finally, (iii) the generation born before 1955 began to distance itself ideologically from the one born after 1980, since 2011.
Polarization and Electoral Incentives: The End of the Chilean Consensus Democracy, 1990–2014. (with Jorge Fábrega and Jorge González) Latin American Politics and Society. 2018.
Consensus democracy among the main Chilean political forces ended abruptly after the 2013 presidential and parliamentary elections, the most polarized elections since the return to democracy in 1990. Relying on spatial voting theory to uncover latent ideological dimensions from survey data between 1990 and 2014, this study finds patterns of gradual polarization starting at least ten years before the collapse of consensus, based on an increasing demobilization of the political center that misaligned politicians from their political platforms (particularly in the center-left parties). That phenomenon changed the political support for the two main political coalitions and the intra-coalition bargaining power of their various factions. The pattern also helps to explain the process behind the 2015 reform of the electoral system.
¿Cómo avanzar hacia una mayor transparencia presupuestaria en los gobiernos regionales? Hacia un Desarrollo Territorial Compartido Descentralizando Poder, Competencias y Recursos. H. von Baer y N. Bravo. Ediciones Universidad de la Frontera. 2019.
This chapter examines the role of budget transparency as a critical institutional mechanism for advancing effective fiscal decentralization in Chile. Although recent reforms have expanded the political and administrative authority of regional governments, fiscal autonomy remains constrained. This imbalance reflects enduring concerns about subnational corruption and fiscal mismanagement, which have impeded efforts to devolve greater financial authority. Drawing on international standards and comparative experiences, the chapter analyzes the conditions under which budget transparency can enhance oversight and promote accountability. Through a detailed assessment of Chile’s fiscal transparency systems—including government platforms for budget monitoring, public financial data dissemination, and citizen access to information—this chapter identifies key institutional and technical gaps that limit the accessibility, completeness, and timeliness of budget information. The chapter concludes by proposing a set of actionable reforms aimed at improving the quality and usability of fiscal data, thereby contributing to a stronger foundation for subnational fiscal governance in Chile.