My research interests are in theoretical political economy and other areas of applied theory. My main line of research introduces an approach to modeling decision making in informationally rich and complicated environments. The key novelty is to use the Brownian motion (and stochastic processes more generally) to represent the mapping from actions to outcomes. So far I have published nine papers using this technology, across a variety of applications (11, 13, 14, 15, 19, 21, 22, 23, and 27 on my C.V), and I’m actively working on several new projects (29, 30, and ongoing work). Click here to see more information on this line of work.
I have also been developing a research agenda at the intersection of Political Economy and Industrial Organization. Political decisions set the rules of the game of market competition and, in turn, market competition determines the interests and strength of the firms who lobby policymakers over those rules. The objective of this work is to develop models that merge the forces from PE and IO and to understand how they interact. This agenda began with a pair of papers couathored with Dana Foarta and Takuo Sugaya (Econometrica, AJPS). These papers focus on dynamic interaction in complete information environments. I have written another paper with Hongyi Li that explores the interaction of market competition and political decision making under incomplete information. Understanding the intersection of PE and IO is long overdue and the area is ripe for further work.
We hold a lunch group for people on campus interested in political economy theory. The details and schedule can be found here: Political Economy Theory Lunch
SITE conference. For the past few years I have co-organized a conference on Political Economy theory as part of the Stanford University SITE program. We see this conference as sitting at the intersection of political economy and economic theory, a venue at which political economists can gather and discuss new and interesting theory and at which economic theorists can step into political economy. We look forward to this conference continuing annually every August. Please submit your best PE theory papers and attend the conference.
Working Papers
Regulating an Innovative Industry
with Hongyi Li
Paper
Cheap Talk in Complex Environments
with Yunus Aybas
Paper Online Appendix
Innovation and Competition on a Rugged Technological Landscape
with Nicolas Lambert and Niko Matouschek
Paper
Policy Decay and Political Competition
with Greg Martin
Paper Online Appendix
Publications
The Dynamics of a Policy Outcome: Market Response and Bureaucratic Enforcement of a Policy Change
with Dana Foarta and Takuo Sugaya
Forthcoming at the AJPS
Paper
![cover american journal of political science 2](https://gsb-faculty.stanford.edu/steven-callander/files/2022/04/cover-american-journal-of-political-science_2.gif)
Agenda Control Under Policy Uncertainty
with Nolan McCarty
American Journal of Political Science Volume 68, Issue 1 (January): 210-226, 2024.
Paper
![](https://gsb-faculty.stanford.edu/steven-callander/files/2022/06/cover-american-journal-of-political-science.gif)
Ideological Competition
with Federica Izzo and Greg Martin
American Journal of Political Science Volume 67, Issue 3 (July): 687-700, 2023.
![cover american journal of political science 2](https://gsb-faculty.stanford.edu/steven-callander/files/2022/04/cover-american-journal-of-political-science_2.gif)
Market Competition and Political Influence: An Integrated Approach
with Dana Foarta and Takuo Sugaya
Econometrica 90:6 (November), 2723-2753, 2022.
Paper ProMarket write-up
![cover econometrica](https://gsb-faculty.stanford.edu/steven-callander/files/2022/04/cover-econometrica.png)
Cause and Effect in Political Polarization: A Dynamic Analysis
with Juan Carlos Carbajal
Journal of Political Economy 130:4 (April), 825-880, 2022.
Paper
![](https://gsb-faculty.stanford.edu/steven-callander/files/2022/06/jpe-cover_0.jpg)
The Novelty of Innovation: Disruption, Competition, and Antitrust Policy
with Niko Matouschek
Management Science 68:1 (January), 37-51, 2022
Paper Kellogg Insight
![ms](https://gsb-faculty.stanford.edu/steven-callander/files/2022/04/ms.jpg)
The Power of Referential Advice
with Nicolas Lambert and Niko Matouschek
Journal of Political Economy 129 (November): 3073-3140, 2021.
Paper LSE Management Blog
![jpe cover](https://gsb-faculty.stanford.edu/steven-callander/files/2022/04/jpe-cover.jpg)
Arrow Meets Hotelling: Modeling Spatial Innovation
with Nicolas Lambert and Niko Matouschek
American Economic Association Papers & Proceedings (non-refereed) 111: 538-543, 2021.
Paper
![pp](https://gsb-faculty.stanford.edu/steven-callander/files/2022/04/pp.jpg)
The Risk of Failure: Trial and Error Learning and Long-Run Performance
with Niko Matouschek
American Economic Journal — Microeconomics 11 (February): 44-78, 2019.
Paper
![aej micro logo](https://gsb-faculty.stanford.edu/steven-callander/files/2022/04/aej-micro-logo.jpg)
Durable Policy, Political Accountability, and Active Waste
with Davin Raiha
Quarterly Journal of Political Science Vol. 12: No. 1, pp 59-97, 2017.
Paper
![](https://gsb-faculty.stanford.edu/steven-callander/files/2022/06/cover-quarterly-journal-of-political-science_0.jpg)
Precedent and Doctrine in a Complicated World
with Tom S. Clark
American Political Science Review 111 (February): 184-203, 2017.
![cover american political science review_0](https://gsb-faculty.stanford.edu/steven-callander/files/2022/04/cover-american-political-science-review_0.jpg)
Dynamic Policymaking with Decay
with Greg Martin
American Journal of Political Science Volume 61, Issue 1 (January): 50-67, 2017.
![cover american journal of political science 2](https://gsb-faculty.stanford.edu/steven-callander/files/2022/04/cover-american-journal-of-political-science_2.gif)
Experimentation in Federal Systems
with Bård Harstad
Quarterly Journal of Economics 130 (2): 951-1002, 2015
![cover quarterly journal of economics 1](https://gsb-faculty.stanford.edu/steven-callander/files/2022/04/cover-quarterly-journal-of-economics_1.jpg)
Preemptive Policy Experimentation
with Patrick Hummel
Econometrica 82 (4): 1509-1528, 2014
![cover econometrica](https://gsb-faculty.stanford.edu/steven-callander/files/2022/04/cover-econometrica.png)
Gridlock and Delegation in a Changing World
with Keith Krehbiel
American Journal of Political Science 58 (4): 819-834, 2014
![](https://gsb-faculty.stanford.edu/steven-callander/files/2022/06/cover-american-journal-of-political-science.gif)
Searching for Good Policies
American Political Science Review 105 (4): 643-662, 2011
![](https://gsb-faculty.stanford.edu/steven-callander/files/2022/06/cover-american-political-science-review.jpg)
Searching and Learning by Trial and Error
American Economic Review 101 (6): 2277-2308, 2011
![](https://gsb-faculty.stanford.edu/steven-callander/files/2022/06/cover-american-economic-review.gif)
The Wisdom of the Minority
with Johannes Hörner
Journal of Economic Theory 144 (4): 1421-39, 2009
![](https://gsb-faculty.stanford.edu/steven-callander/files/2022/06/cover-journal-of-economic-theory.jpg)
Majority Rule When Voters Like to Win
Games and Economic Behavior 64 (2): 393-420, 2008
![](https://gsb-faculty.stanford.edu/steven-callander/files/2022/06/cover-games-and-economic-behavior_1.jpg)
Political Motivations
Review of Economic Studies 75 (3): 671-697, 2008
![](https://gsb-faculty.stanford.edu/steven-callander/files/2022/06/cover-review-of-economic-studies_1.jpg)
A Theory of Policy Expertise
Quarterly Journal of Political Science 3 (2): 123-140, 2008
Appendix
![](https://gsb-faculty.stanford.edu/steven-callander/files/2022/06/cover-quarterly-journal-of-political-science_1.jpg)
Context-Dependent Voting and Political Ambiguity
with Catherine H. Wilson
Journal of Public Economics 92 (3-4): 565-581, 2008
![cover journal of public economics 1](https://gsb-faculty.stanford.edu/steven-callander/files/2022/04/cover-journal-of-public-economics_1.gif)
Turnout, Polarization, and Duverger’s Law
with Catherine H. Wilson
Journal of Politics 69 (4): 1047-1056, 2007
Appendix
![](https://gsb-faculty.stanford.edu/steven-callander/files/2022/06/cover-journal-of-politics.jpg)
Lies, Damned Lies, and Political Campaigns
with Simon Wilkie
Games and Economic Behavior 60 (2): 262-286, 2007
![](https://gsb-faculty.stanford.edu/steven-callander/files/2022/06/cover-games-and-economic-behavior.jpg)
Bandwagons and Momentum in Sequential Voting
Review of Economic Studies 74 (3): 653-684, 2007
![](https://gsb-faculty.stanford.edu/steven-callander/files/2022/06/cover-review-of-economic-studies.jpg)
Context-dependent Voting
with Catherine H. Wilson
Quarterly Journal of Political Science 1 (3): 227-254, 2006
![](https://gsb-faculty.stanford.edu/steven-callander/files/2022/06/cover-quarterly-journal-of-political-science.jpg)
Electoral Competition in Heterogeneous Districts
Journal of Political Economy 113 (5): 1116-1145, 2005
![cover journal of political economy](https://gsb-faculty.stanford.edu/steven-callander/files/2022/04/cover-journal-of-political-economy.png)
Principles of Network Development and Evolution: An Experimental Study
with Charles Plott
Journal of Public Economics 89 (8): 1469-1495, 2005
![](https://gsb-faculty.stanford.edu/steven-callander/files/2022/06/cover-journal-of-public-economics.gif)
Duverger’s Hypothesis, the Run-Off Rule, and Electoral Competition
Political Analysis 13 (3): 209-232, 2005
![cover political analysis](https://gsb-faculty.stanford.edu/steven-callander/files/2022/04/cover-political-analysis.gif)