Dr Leonard Wantchekon

Dr Leonard Wantchekon is Professor of Politics and Economics at New York University, and founding director of the Institute for Empirical Research in Political Economy, based in Benin, which focuses on research in the evaluation of public policies. In addition, Dr Wantchekon is secretary of the American Political Science Association and the managing editor of the Journal for African Development. Previously, he has taught at Yale University and was a visiting fellow at the Center of International Studies at Princeton University.

Dr Wantchekon completed his tertiary education in Canada and the USA, receiving his MA in economics from Laval University and the University of British Columbia, and his PhD in economics from Northwestern University. His research interests include post-civil war democratization, the resource curse and electoral clientelism.