I am a Visiting Assistant Professor in Political Studies at Pitzer College. I am also a non-Resident Fellow at the Center for the Advanced Study of India (University of Pennsylvania). I received a Ph.D. in Political Science at Columbia University in 2015. I was previously a Visiting Assistant Professor in Political Science at Swarthmore College.

I study the micro-foundations of clientelism and distributive politics with a regional focus on India. My research interests include clientelism and patronage politics,  party-voter linkages,  local governance, and state capacity. Drawing on unique behavioral and experimental measures from cross-referenced elite and voter surveys, completed research measures the extent to which local politicians know voters’ partisan preferences, local politicians’ preferences over the beneficiaries of targeted benefits, and the effect of co-partisanship on the allocation of anti-poverty benefits. Future projects will explore distortions in the targeting of anti-poverty programs, variation in the capacity of state institutions across Indian districts, and the organization of local political machines. My research has been supported by the National Science Foundation.

Contact Information

Political Studies
Pitzer College
Email: Mark_Schneider@pitzer.edu
Twitter: @schneidertime