The Local Governance Laboratory is co-directed by Professors Miguel Pereira (University of Southern California), Nathalie Giger (University of Geneva), Martin Bækgaard (Aarhus University), and Lior Sheffer (Tel Aviv University).

Miguel Pereira

Miguel Pereira is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Southern California with a Ph.D. in political science from Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Pereira’s research focuses on political representation, how politicians learn from each other and make decisions. He is also interested in questions on women and politics, corruption, policy diffusion, and attitude formation. Previous work has been published in the American Political Science Review, Journal of Politics, and British Journal of Political Science among others.

Nathalie Giger

Nathalie Giger works as Associate Professor at the Department for Political Science and International Relations at the University of Geneva. Previously, she has been affiliated with the University of Zürich, the University of Mannheim, and the University of Bern. Her research interests include comparative political behaviour, political representation and experimental methods of social research. Dr. Giger has previously published an academic book with Routledge in addition to numerous articles published in journals.

Martin Bækgaard

Martin Bækgaard is a professor at Aarhus University, where he also holds a Ph.D. in Political Science. His research centers around the interplay between politicians and bureaucrats, organizational structures in Danish municipalities, and local-level political parties and reforms. Dr. Baekgaard’s research methods involve multi level analysis and agent-based modeling, and his articles have been peer reviewed and published in international journals including the Public Administration, International Public Management Journal, and the British Journal of Political Science.

Lior Sheffer

Lior Sheffer is an Assistant Professor at Tel Aviv University’s School of Political Science, Government, and International Affairs, where he studies elite political behaviour. His research focuses on executive decision making – whether and how people who run for office differ from non-politicians when they solve problems and reason about the policy choices they have to make. His broader substantive interests include elections, campaign effects, and legislative behaviour. His work has been published or is forthcoming in journals such as the American Political Science Review, Political Behavior, Political Psychology, and Electoral Studies.