My dissertation explores how legislative goals shape policy processes in Latin America. In particular, I challenge the assumption that legislators are single-minded reelection seekers by examining the drivers of policy activity in countries where reelection is neither possible nor desired. I adopt a mixed-methods approach that combines statistical within-country time-series analysis with semi-structured interviews and process-tracing of policy activity in Brazil and Mexico across two issue areas: education and public security. I also work with the Brazilian Policy Agendas, which investigates trends in policymaking across time in the country and integrates the Comparative Agendas Project. Other work includes:

"Budgetary Change in Authoritarian and Democratic Regimes," co-authored with Frank R. Baumgartner, Marcello Carammia, Derek A. Epp, and Tevfik Murat Yildirim. Read our paper at the Journal of European Public Policy

"Across the Great Divide: Reconnecting the Policy Literature with Comparative Politics and International Relations," co-authored with Jason Blessing. Working paper.

"Framing and Financial Resources: The Case of the Brazilian Gun Control Referendum." Working paper.