Publication by field

Development

• Refineries, Pipelines and Petroleum Fields – The Impact of Oil on Conflict Around the World (with Jingke Pan, Maximilian Herrmann), CESifo Working Paper No. 12761, 2026.
• The Electoral Effects of Foreign Aid: Evidence from Sub-National Data (with Jingke Pan, Christina Schneider, and Keyi Tang). Paper presented at the “Analyzing Global Development with the Geocoded Official Development Assistance Dataset (GODAD)” workshop, 2025.
• Foreign Aid and Targeted Political Violence (with Jingke Pan and Christina Schneider), CESifo Working Paper No. 11970, 2025.
• Wedded to Prosperity? Spousal Favoritism in Foreign Aid and Regional Development (with Pietro Bomprezzi, Andreas Fuchs, Teresa Hailer, Andreas Kammerlander, Lennart Kaplan, Silvia Marchesi, Tania Masi, Kerstin Perlik, Charlotte Robert), CEPR Discussion Paper 18878 (v.3), 2025.
• When Aid Stops, Science 392: 687-688 (2026).
• Connective Financing: Chinese Infrastructure Projects and the Diffusion of Economic Activity in Developing Countries (with Richard Bluhm, Andreas Fuchs, Bradley C. Parks, Austin Strange, Michael J. Tierney), Journal of Urban Economics 145: 103730 (2025).
• When Aid Misses the Target: Competing Objectives, New Classifications, and Smarter Delivery, World Development 196: 107159 (2025).
• Political Economy of Emerging Donors (with Angelika Budjan), in: R. Jong-A-Pin and C. Bjornskov (eds.), Encyclopedia of Public Choice, pp. 552-561, Edward Elgar (2025).
• Can Aid Buy Foreign Public Support? Evidence from Chinese Development Finance (with Lukas Wellner, Andreas Fuchs, Brad Parks, Austin Strange), Economic Development and Cultural Change 73, 3: 523-578 (2025).
• China’s Overseas Development Program (with Bradley C. Parks), in: R. Desai, S. Devarajan and J. Tobin (eds.), Handbook of Aid and Development, pp. 248-262, Edward Elgar (2024).
• Aid Effectiveness and Donor Motives (with Valentin F. Lang and Bernhard Reinsberg), World Development 176: 106501 (2024).
• Chinese Aid and Health at the Country and Local Level (with John Cruzatti C., Johannes Matzat), World Development 167: 106214 (2023).
• Bilateral or Multilateral? International Financial Flows and the Dirty-Work Hypothesis (with Valentin F. Lang, B. Peter Rosendorff, James Raymond Vreeland), Journal of Politics 84, 4: 1932-1946 (2022).
• Home Bias in Humanitarian Aid: The Role of Regional Favoritism in the Allocation of International Disaster Relief (with Christian Bommer and Marcello Perez-Alvarez), Journal of Public Economics 208: 104604 (2022).
• Banking on Beijing. The Aims and Impacts of China’s Overseas Development Program (with Andreas Fuchs, Bradley C. Parks, Austin Strange, Michael J. Tierney), Cambridge University Press (2022).
  • Outstanding Research Output Prize 2022-23, University of Hong Kong
  • 2023 International Political Economy Society’s Best New Dataset Award
  • Social Sciences Outstanding Research Output Award 2022-23, University of Hong Kong
  • Reviewed in: Review of International Organizations (2022), Journal of International Banking and Financial Law 37, 7: 562 (2022), The China Quarterly (2022), Journal of International Relations (2022), International Affairs (2023), Perspectives on Politics (2023), Asian Policy & Politics (2023), Political Science Quarterly (2023), Foreign Affairs (2023).
• Aid, China, and Growth: Evidence from a New Global Development Finance Dataset (with Andreas Fuchs, Bradley C. Parks, Austin Strange, Michael J. Tierney), American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 13, 2: 135-174 (2021).
• Optimal Decision Rules in Multilateral Aid Funds (with Jenny Simon, Justin Valasek), Review of International Organizations 16, 3: 689-719 (2021).
• Is Favoritism a Threat to Chinese Aid Effectiveness? A Subnational Analysis of Chinese Development Projects (with Andreas Fuchs, Roland Hodler, Bradley C. Parks, Paul A. Raschky, Michael J. Tierney), World Development 139: 105291 (2021).
• Aid and Growth. New Evidence Using an Excludable Instrument (with Sarah Langlotz), Canadian Journal of Economics 53, 3: 1162-1198 (2020).
• The Political Economy of International Finance Corporation Lending (with Valentin F. Lang, Katharina Richert), Journal of Development Economics 140: 242-254 (2019).
• African Leaders and the Geography of China’s Foreign Assistance (with Andreas Fuchs, Roland Hodler, Bradley C. Parks, Paul A. Raschky, Michael J. Tierney), Journal of Development Economics 140: 44-71 (2019).
  • International Geneva (IG) Award 2020
• The Effects of Foreign Aid on Refugee Flows (with Andreas Fuchs, Sarah Langlotz), European Economic Review 112: 127-147 (2019).
• Foreign aid (with Valentin F. Lang and Sebastian Ziaja), in: T. Risse, T. Börzel and A. Draude (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Governance and Limited Statehood, pp. 394-415, Oxford University Press (2018).
• Geopolitics, Aid and Growth: The Impact of UN Security Council Membership on the Effectiveness of Aid (with Vera Eichenauer and Kai Gehring), World Bank Economic Review 32: 268-286 (2018).
• Apples and Dragon Fruits: The Determinants of Aid and Other Forms of State Financing from China to Africa (with Andreas Fuchs, Bradley C. Parks, Austin Strange, Michael J. Tierney), International Studies Quarterly 62: 182-194 (2018).
• Information Transmission and Ownership Consolidation in Aid Programs (with Sarah Langlotz and Silvia Marchesi), Economic Inquiry 55: 1671-1688 (2017).
• Do We Know What We Think We Know? Aid Fragmentation and Effectiveness Revisited (with Kai Gehring, Katharina Michaelowa, Franziska Spörri), World Development 99: 320-334 (2017).
• Tracking Under-Reported Financial Flows: China’s Development Finance and the Aid-Conflict Nexus Revisited (with Austin Strange, Bradley C. Parks, Michael J. Tierney, Andreas Fuchs), Journal of Conflict Resolution 61: 935-963 (2017).
• Rogue Aid? An Empirical Analysis of China’s Aid Allocation (with Andreas Fuchs), Canadian Journal of Economics 48: 988-1023 (2015).
• Aid and Growth at the Regional Level (with Steffen Lohmann), Oxford Review of Economic Policy 31: 420-446 (2015).
• Government Ideology in Donor and Recipient Countries: Does Political Proximity Matter for the Effectiveness of Aid? (with Anna Minasyan and Peter Nunnenkamp), European Economic Review 79: 80-92 (2015).
• Gesture Politics or Real Commitment? Gender Inequality and the Allocation of Aid (with Kai Gehring and Stephan Klasen), World Development 70: 464-480 (2015).
• The Allocation of German Aid: Self-interest and Government Ideology (with Maya Schmaljohann and Peter Nunnenkamp), Economics & Politics 27: 160-184 (2015).
• Comment on Lof, Mekasha, and Tarp (2014) (with Dierk Herzer, Felicitas Nowak-Lehmann D., Stephan Klasen, Inmaculada Martínez-Zarzoso), World Development 70: 389-396 (2015).
• The devil is in the shadow. Do institutions affect income and productivity or only official income and official productivity? (with Pierre-Guillaume Méon and Friedrich Schneider), Public Choice 158: 51-83 (2014).
• Determinants of Donor Generosity: A Survey of the Aid Budget Literature (with Andreas Fuchs and Peter Nunnenkamp), World Development 56: 172-199 (2014).
• The costs of favoritism: Is politically-driven aid less effective? (with Stephan Klasen, James Raymond Vreeland, Eric Werker), Economic Development and Cultural Change 62: 157-191 (2013).
• New Donors (with Andreas Fuchs, Peter Nunnenkamp), International Interactions 39: 402-415 (2013).
• The Role of Country-of-origin Characteristics for Foreign Direct Investment and Technical Cooperation in Post-reform India (with Peter Nunnenkamp and Krishna Chaitanya Vadlamannati), World Development 44: 88-109 (2013).
• Does Legalization of Prostitution Increase Human Trafficking? (with Seo-Young Cho and Eric Neumayer), World Development 41: 67-82 (2013).
  • Reprinted in: Women’s Human Rights 9: 138-183 (2013).
• Development (Paradigm) Failures (with Roland Hodler), Journal of Development Economics 101: 63-74 (2013).
• Does Aid Buy (Economic) Freedom? (with Kai Gehring), in: J. Gwartney, R. Lawson and J. Hall (eds.), Economic Freedom of the World: 2012 Annual Report, pp. 219-246, Fraser Institute (2012).
• Aid Allocation by German NGOs: Does the Degree of Public Refinancing Matter? (with Peter Nunnenkamp, Susann Thiel, Rainer Thiele), World Economy 35, 11: 1448-1472 (2012).
• Do IMF and World Bank programs induce government crises? An empirical analysis (with Martin Gassebner), International Organization 66, 2: 329-358 (2012).
• Financial Dependence and Aid Allocation by Swiss NGOs: A Panel Tobit Analysis (with Peter Nunnenkamp, Hannes Öhler, Johannes Weisser), Economic Development and Cultural Change 60, 4: 829-867 (2012).
• Does foreign aid really raise per-capita income? A time series perspective (with Felicitas Nowak-Lehmann D., Inmaculada Martínez-Zarzoso, Dierk Herzer, Stephan Klasen), Canadian Journal of Economics 45: 288-313 (2012).
• Why it pays for aid recipients to take note of the Millennium Challenge Corporation: Other donors do! (with Peter Nunnenkamp and Hannes Öhler), Economics Letters 115: 373-375 (2012).
• Does Conditionality Work? A Test for an Innovative US Aid Scheme (with Hannes Öhler and Peter Nunnenkamp), European Economic Review 56: 138-153 (2012).
• Are ‘New’ Donors Different? Comparing the Allocation of Bilateral Aid Between NonDAC and DAC Donor Countries? (with Peter Nunnenkamp and Rainer Thiele), World Development 39, 11: 1950-1968 (2011).
• Does Terror Increase Aid? (with Andreas Fuchs), Public Choice 149: 337-363 (2011).
• Foreign Students and Migration to the United States (with Panu Poutvaara), World Development 39, 8: 1294-1307 (2011).
• The Impact of Aid on Growth Revisited: Do Donor and Recipient Characteristics make a Difference? (with Christopher Kilby), Economics Letters 107, 3: 338-340 (2010).
  • Reprinted in: Helen Milner and Dustin Tingley (eds.), Geopolitics of Foreign Aid, Vol. II, chapter 12, Edward Elgar Publishing (2012).
• Aid Delivery through Non-governmental Organisations: Does the Aid Channel Matter for the Targeting of Swedish Aid? (with Florian Mölders and Peter Nunnenkamp), World Economy 33, 2: 147-176 (2010).
• Does the IMF Help or Hurt? The Effect of IMF programs on the likelihood and outcome of currency crises (with Stefanie Walter), World Development 38, 1: 1-18 (2010).
• Keeping a Low Profile: What Determines the Allocation of Aid by Non-Governmental Organizations? (with Dirk-Jan Koch, Rainer Thiele and Peter Nunnenkamp), World Development 37, 5: 902-918 (2009).
• Review of Alacevich, Michele, the Political Economy of the World Bank: The early Years, Stanford, CA: Stanford Economics and Finance/World Bank, Journal of Development Studies 45, 10: 1769-1770 (2009).
• Development Aid and International Politics: Does membership on the UN Security Council influence World Bank decisions? (with Jan-Egbert Sturm and James Raymond Vreeland), Journal of Development Economics 88: 1-18 (2009).
  • 2010 Excellence Award of the KfW Development Bank for policy relevant development research
  • Reprinted in: Helen Milner and Dustin Tingley (eds.), Geopolitics of Foreign Aid, Vol. II, chapter 19, Edward Elgar Publishing (2012).
• Does US Aid Buy UN General Assembly Votes? A Disaggregated Analysis (with Rainer Thiele and Peter Nunnenkamp), Public Choice 136, 1: 139-164 (2008).
• Does Aid for Education Educate Children? Evidence from Panel Data (with Rainer Thiele and Peter Nunnenkamp), World Bank Economic Review 22, 2: 291-314 (2008).
• Sectoral Aid Priorities and the MDGs: Missed Targets? (with Rainer Thiele and Peter Nunnenkamp), Poverty in Focus, October, pp. 16-17 (2007).
• Do Donors Target Aid in Line with the Millennium Development Goals? A Sector Perspective of Aid Allocation (with Rainer Thiele and Peter Nunnenkamp), Review of World Economics 143, 4: 596-630 (2007).
• Erfolge und Misserfolge in der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit, Information Nr. 120, pp. 1-21, Internationale Treuhand Gruppe (2006).
• IMF and Economic Growth: The Effects of Programs, Loans, and Compliance with Conditionality, World Development 34, 5: 769-788 (2006).
• The Influence of Elections on IMF Programme Interruptions, Journal of Development Studies 39, 6: 101-120 (2003).
  • Reprinted in: Graham Bird and Dane Rowlands (eds.), The International Monetary Fund and the World Economy Vol. II, Edward Elgar Publishing (2007).

Political Economy

• Refineries, Pipelines and Petroleum Fields – The Impact of Oil on Conflict Around the World (with Jingke Pan, Maximilian Herrmann), CESifo Working Paper No. 12761, 2026.
• Political Ideologies, Redistribution and Local (Mis-)Perceptions of Migrant Stocks and Flows (with Sarah Langlotz, Johannes Matzat, Christopher Parsons), CESifo Working Paper No. 12390, 2026.
• From Moderates to Extremes: How Immigration Polarizes American Politics (with Johannes Matzat, Sarah Langlotz, Christopher Parsons), CESifo Working Paper No. 12377, 2026.
• Foreign Aid and Targeted Political Violence (with Jingke Pan and Christina Schneider), CESifo Working Paper No. 11970, 2025.
• Wedded to Prosperity? Spousal Favoritism in Foreign Aid and Regional Development (with Pietro Bomprezzi, Andreas Fuchs, Teresa Hailer, Andreas Kammerlander, Lennart Kaplan, Silvia Marchesi, Tania Masi, Kerstin Perlik, Charlotte Robert), CEPR Discussion Paper 18878 (v.3), 2025.
• Immigration, Political Ideologies and the Polarization of American Politics (with Sarah Langlotz, Johannes Matzat, Anna Maria Mayda, Christopher Parsons), CEPR Discussion Paper 15587, 2020.
• Bilateral or Multilateral? International Financial Flows and the Dirty-Work Hypothesis (with Valentin F. Lang, B. Peter Rosendorff, James Raymond Vreeland), Journal of Politics 84, 4: 1932-1946 (2022).
• Home Bias in Humanitarian Aid: The Role of Regional Favoritism in the Allocation of International Disaster Relief (with Christian Bommer and Marcello Perez-Alvarez), Journal of Public Economics 208: 104604 (2022).
• Optimal Decision Rules in Multilateral Aid Funds (with Jenny Simon, Justin Valasek), Review of International Organizations 16, 3: 689-719 (2021).
• Is Favoritism a Threat to Chinese Aid Effectiveness? A Subnational Analysis of Chinese Development Projects (with Andreas Fuchs, Roland Hodler, Bradley C. Parks, Paul A. Raschky, Michael J. Tierney), World Development 139: 105291 (2021).
• The Alma Mater Effect: Does Foreign Education of Political Leaders Influence Foreign Policy? (with Shu Yu), Public Choice 185: 45-64 (2020).
• The Political Economy of International Finance Corporation Lending (with Valentin F. Lang, Katharina Richert), Journal of Development Economics 140: 242-254 (2019).
• African Leaders and the Geography of China’s Foreign Assistance (with Andreas Fuchs, Roland Hodler, Bradley C. Parks, Paul A. Raschky, Michael J. Tierney), Journal of Development Economics 140: 44-71 (2019).
  • International Geneva (IG) Award 2020
• The Political Economy of International Organizations (with Valentin F. Lang), in: R. Congleton, B. Grofman and S. Voigt (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Public Choice, pp. 607-652, Oxford University Press (2019).
• Political influences in IMF and World Bank operations: Lessons for the design of European institutions, in: N. Campos and J.-E. Sturm (eds.), Bretton Woods, Brussels, and Beyond – Redesigning the Institutions of Europe, pp. 23-28, VoxEU.org eBook (2018).
• Geopolitics, Aid and Growth: The Impact of UN Security Council Membership on the Effectiveness of Aid (with Vera Eichenauer and Kai Gehring), World Bank Economic Review 32: 268-286 (2018).
• Information Transmission within Federal Fiscal Architectures: Theory and Evidence (with Kai Gehring, Christos Kotsogiannis and Silvia Marchesi), Oxford Economic Papers 70: 243-265 (2018).
• Government Ideology in Donor and Recipient Countries: Does Political Proximity Matter for the Effectiveness of Aid? (with Anna Minasyan and Peter Nunnenkamp), European Economic Review 79: 80-92 (2015).
• The Allocation of German Aid: Self-interest and Government Ideology (with Maya Schmaljohann and Peter Nunnenkamp), Economics & Politics 27: 160-184 (2015).
• The devil is in the shadow. Do institutions affect income and productivity or only official income and official productivity? (with Pierre-Guillaume Méon and Friedrich Schneider), Public Choice 158: 121-141 (2014).
• The Determinants of Election to the United Nations Security Council (with Matthew Gould, Matthew Rablen, James Raymond Vreeland), Public Choice 158: 51-83 (2014).
• The Political Economy of the United Nations Security Council. Money and Influence (with James Raymond Vreeland), Cambridge University Press (2014).
  • Runner up for The 2015 William H. Riker Award for the Best Book in Political Economy
  • Reviewed in: Academic Council on the United Nations System (2017), Public Choice 165, 3-4: 311-314 (2015).
• Greasing the wheels of entrepreneurship? The impact of regulations and corruption on firm entry (with Martin Gassebner), Public Choice 155: 413-432 (2013).
• Country or Leader? Political Change and UN General Assembly Voting (with Nathan M. Jensen), European Journal of Political Economy 29: 183-196 (2013).
• Does Legalization of Prostitution Increase Human Trafficking? (with Seo-Young Cho and Eric Neumayer), World Development 41: 67-82 (2013).
  • Reprinted in: Women’s Human Rights 9: 138-183 (2013).
• Do IMF and World Bank programs induce government crises? An empirical analysis (with Martin Gassebner), International Organization 66, 2: 329-358 (2012).
• Do the IMF and the World Bank Influence Voting in the UN General Assembly? (with Jan-Egbert Sturm), Public Choice 151, 1: 363-397 (2012).
• Does Terror Increase Aid? (with Andreas Fuchs), Public Choice 149: 337-363 (2011).
• Do Human Rights Offenders Oppose Human Rights Resolutions in the United Nations? (with Bernhard Boockmann), Public Choice 146: 443-467 (2011).
• Do Markets Care About Central Bank Governor Changes? Evidence from Emerging Markets (with Christoph Moser), Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking 42, 8: 1589-1612 (2010).
• When is a Central Bank Governor Fired? Evidence Based on a new Data Set (with Jakob de Haan and Jan-Egbert Sturm), Journal of Macroeconomics 32: 766-781 (2010). Turnover rates
• Corruption and the shadow economy: An empirical Analysis (with Friedrich Schneider), Public Choice 144: 215-238 (2010).
• Formal Institutions and Subjective Well-Being: Revisiting the Cross-Country Evidence (with Christian Bjørnskov and Justina A.V. Fischer), European Journal of Political Economy 26, 4: 419-430 (2010).
• Foreign Exchange Intervention and the Political Business Cycle: A Panel Data Analysis (with Roland Vaubel), Journal of International Money and Finance 28, 5: 755-775 (2009).
• The impact of political leaders’ profession and education on reforms (with Michael Lamla, Sarah Lein, and Frank Somogyi), Journal of Comparative Economics 37, 1: 169-193 (2009).
• IMF Conditionality: Theory and Evidence, Public Choice 141, 1-2: 233-267 (2009).
• The Nexus Between Corruption and Capital Account Restrictions (with Lars-H.R. Siemers), Public Choice 140, 1-2: 245-265 (2009).
  • 2009 Publication Award of the Friends and Sponsors of RWI
• The Political Economy of IMF Forecasts (with Silvia Marchesi and James Raymond Vreeland), Public Choice 137, 1-2: 145-171 (2008).
• The Impact of Globalization on the Composition of Government Expenditures. Evidence from Panel Data (with Jan-Egbert Sturm and Heinrich W. Ursprung), Public Choice 134, 3-4: 263-292 (2008).
• Does US Aid Buy UN General Assembly Votes? A Disaggregated Analysis (with Rainer Thiele and Peter Nunnenkamp), Public Choice 136, 1: 139-164 (2008).
• Does High Inflation Cause Central Bankers to Lose Their Job? Evidence Based on A New Data Set (with Jan-Egbert Sturm and Jakob de Haan), European Journal of Political Economy 24, 4: 778-787 (2008). Turnover rates
• The Bigger the Better? Evidence of the Effect of Government Size on Life Satisfaction Around the World (with Christian Bjørnskov and Justina A.V. Fischer), Public Choice 127, 3: 267-292 (2007).
• Staff growth in international organizations: A principal-agent problem? An empirical analysis (with Roland Vaubel and Uğurlu Soylu), Public Choice 133, 3-4: 275-295 (2007).
• The Influence of Globalization on Taxes and Social Policy – an Empirical Analysis for OECD Countries, European Journal of Political Economy 22, 1: 179-201 (2006).
• Power to the People? The Impact of Decentralization on Governance, KOF Working Paper 121, ETH Zurich (2006).
• A Public Choice Perspective of IMF and World Bank Lending and Conditionality, Public Choice 119, 3-4: 445-464 (2004).
• The Influence of IMF Programs on the Re-election of Debtor Governments, Economics & Politics 16, 1: 53-75 (2004).
• The Contribution of the IMF and the World Bank to Economic Freedom (with Bernhard Boockmann), European Journal of Political Economy 19, 3: 633-649 (2003).

International Organizations

• Bilateral or Multilateral? International Financial Flows and the Dirty-Work Hypothesis (with Valentin F. Lang, B. Peter Rosendorff, James Raymond Vreeland), Journal of Politics 84, 4: 1932-1946 (2022).
• Optimal Decision Rules in Multilateral Aid Funds (with Jenny Simon, Justin Valasek), Review of International Organizations 16, 3: 689-719 (2021).
• The Political Economy of International Finance Corporation Lending (with Valentin F. Lang, Katharina Richert), Journal of Development Economics 140: 242-254 (2019).
• The Political Economy of International Organizations (with Valentin F. Lang), in: R. Congleton, B. Grofman and S. Voigt (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Public Choice, pp. 607-652, Oxford University Press (2019).
• Political influences in IMF and World Bank operations: Lessons for the design of European institutions, in: N. Campos and J.-E. Sturm (eds.), Bretton Woods, Brussels, and Beyond – Redesigning the Institutions of Europe, pp. 23-28, VoxEU.org eBook (2018).
• Geopolitics, Aid and Growth: The Impact of UN Security Council Membership on the Effectiveness of Aid (with Vera Eichenauer and Kai Gehring), World Bank Economic Review 32: 268-286 (2018).
• Politics and IMF Conditionality (with Jan-Egbert Sturm and James Raymond Vreeland), Journal of Conflict Resolution 59: 120-148 (2015).
• Membership has its Privileges – The Effect of Membership in International Organizations on FDI (with Heiner Mikosch and Stefan Voigt), World Development 66: 346-358 (2015).
• The Political Economy of the United Nations Security Council. Money and Influence (with James Raymond Vreeland), Cambridge University Press (2014).
  • Runner up for The 2015 William H. Riker Award for the Best Book in Political Economy
  • Reviewed in: Academic Council on the United Nations System (2017), Public Choice 165, 3-4: 311-314 (2015).
• The Determinants of Election to the United Nations Security Council (with Matthew Gould, Matthew Rablen, James Raymond Vreeland), Public Choice 158: 51-83 (2014).
• The costs of favoritism: Is politically-driven aid less effective? (with Stephan Klasen, James Raymond Vreeland, Eric Werker), Economic Development and Cultural Change 62: 157-191 (2013).
• Joyce, Joseph P., The IMF and Global Financial Crises. Phoenix Rising? Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Review of International Organizations 8, 3: 415-418 (2013).
• Country or Leader? Political Change and UN General Assembly Voting (with Nathan M. Jensen), European Journal of Political Economy 29: 183-196 (2013).
• Do IMF and World Bank programs induce government crises? An empirical analysis (with Martin Gassebner), International Organization 66, 2: 329-358 (2012).
• Do the IMF and the World Bank Influence Voting in the UN General Assembly? (with Jan-Egbert Sturm), Public Choice 151, 1: 363-397 (2012).
• Does Membership in International Organizations Increase Governments’ Credibility? A Test on the Effects of Delegating Powers (with Stefan Voigt), Journal of Comparative Economics 39: 326-348 (2011).
• Read my lips: the role of information transmission in multilateral reform design (with Silvia Marchesi and Laura Sabani), Journal of International Economics 84: 86-98 (2011).
• Do Human Rights Offenders Oppose Human Rights Resolutions in the United Nations? (with Bernhard Boockmann), Public Choice 146: 443-467 (2011).
• Does the IMF Help or Hurt? The Effect of IMF programs on the likelihood and outcome of currency crises (with Stefanie Walter), World Development 38, 1: 1-18 (2010).
• Global Horse Trading: IMF loans for votes in the United Nations Security Council (with Jan-Egbert Sturm and James Raymond Vreeland), European Economic Review 53: 742-757 (2009).
  • Top-cited article in the EER in the 2009-11 period.
• The Development of IMF and World Bank Conditionality, in: L. Yueh (ed.), The Law and Economics of Globalisation: New Challenges for a World in Flux, pp. 161-192, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar (2009).
• The Impact of International Organizations on the Environment: An Empirical Analysis (with Magdalena Ramada y Galán Sarasola), in: F. Biermann, A. Schreyögg and B. Siebenhüner (ed.), International Organizations in Global Environmental Governance, pp. 19-50, London: Routledge (2009).
• IMF Conditionality: Theory and Evidence, Public Choice 141, 1-2: 233-267 (2009).
• The Political Economy of IMF Forecasts (with Silvia Marchesi and James Raymond Vreeland), Public Choice 137, 1-2: 145-171 (2008).
• Does US Aid Buy UN General Assembly Votes? A Disaggregated Analysis (with Rainer Thiele and Peter Nunnenkamp), Public Choice 136, 1: 139-164 (2008).
• IMF Programs and Reforms – Inhibition or Encouragement? (with Sarah M. Rupprecht), Economics Letters 95, 3: 320-326 (2007).
• Staff growth in international organizations: A principal-agent problem? An empirical analysis (with Roland Vaubel and Uğurlu Soylu), Public Choice 133, 3-4: 275-295 (2007).
• Independent Actor or Agent? An Empirical Analysis of the Impact of US Interests on IMF Conditions (with Nathan M. Jensen), Journal of Law and Economics 50, 1: 105-124 (2007).
• Review of Teunissen, Jan J. and Age Akkerman (eds.), Helping the Poor? The IMF and Low-Income Countries, The Hague: FONDAD 2005, World Economy 30, 3: 532-533 (2007).
• IWF und Weltbank: Unzulänglichkeiten in der Entwicklungspolitik, Orientierungen zur Wirtschafts- und Gesellschaftspolitik 113, 3: 49-55, Ludwig-Erhard-Stiftung (2007).
• IMF and Economic Growth: The Effects of Programs, Loans, and Compliance with Conditionality, World Development 34, 5: 769-788 (2006).
• Does the IMF Influence Fiscal and Monetary Policy? Journal of Policy Reform 8, 3: 225-238 (2005).
• A Public Choice Perspective of IMF and World Bank Lending and Conditionality, Public Choice 119, 3-4: 445-464 (2004).
• The Influence of IMF Programs on the Re-election of Debtor Governments, Economics & Politics 16, 1: 53-75 (2004).
• Do IMF and IBRD cause moral hazard and political business cycles? Evidence from panel data (with Roland Vaubel), Open Economies Review 15, 1: 5-22 (2004).
  • Reprinted in: Graham Bird and Dane Rowlands (eds.), The International Monetary Fund and the World Economy Vol. II, Edward Elgar Publishing (2007).
• The Causes and Consequences of IMF Conditionality (with Roland Vaubel), Emerging Markets Finance and Trade 40, 3: 26-54 (2004).
  • Reprinted in: Graham Bird and Dane Rowlands (eds.), The International Monetary Fund and the World Economy Vol. II, Edward Elgar Publishing (2007).
• The Influence of Elections on IMF Programme Interruptions, Journal of Development Studies 39, 6: 101-120 (2003).
  • Reprinted in: Graham Bird and Dane Rowlands (eds.), The International Monetary Fund and the World Economy Vol. II, Edward Elgar Publishing (2007).
• Das Personalwachstum in Internationalen Organisationen: Ein Principal-Agent Problem? Eine empirische Analyse (with Roland Vaubel and Uğurlu Soylu), in: F.-U. Pappi, E. Riedel, P.W. Thurner and R. Vaubel (eds.), Die Institutionalisierung Internationaler Verhandlungen, Mannheimer Jahrbuch für Europäische Sozialforschung, Band 8, pp. 205-232, Frankfurt/New York: Campus-Verlag (2004).
• Verursacht der IWF Moral Hazard? Ein kritischer Literaturüberblick, Jahrbuch für Wirtschaftswissenschaften (Review of Economics) 54, 3: 268-287 (2003).
• The Contribution of the IMF and the World Bank to Economic Freedom (with Bernhard Boockmann), European Journal of Political Economy 19, 3: 633-649 (2003).
• Die Kreditvergabe von IWF und Weltbank: Ursachen und Wirkungen aus politisch-ökonomischer Sicht, Berlin: Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Berlin (2003).

Globalization and Migration

• Political Ideologies, Redistribution and Local (Mis-)Perceptions of Migrant Stocks and Flows (with Sarah Langlotz, Johannes Matzat, Christopher Parsons), CESifo Working Paper No. 12390, 2026.
• From Moderates to Extremes: How Immigration Polarizes American Politics (with Johannes Matzat, Sarah Langlotz, Christopher Parsons), CESifo Working Paper No. 12377, 2026.
• Immigration, Political Ideologies and the Polarization of American Politics (with Sarah Langlotz, Johannes Matzat, Anna Maria Mayda, Christopher Parsons), CEPR Discussion Paper 15587, 2020.
• The Effect of Migration on Terror – Made at Home or Imported from Abroad? (with Martin Gassebner and Paul Schaudt), Canadian Journal of Economics 53, 4: 1703-1744 (2020).
• The Alma Mater Effect: Does Foreign Education of Political Leaders Influence Foreign Policy? (with Shu Yu), Public Choice 185: 45-64 (2020).
• The Effects of Foreign Aid on Refugee Flows (with Andreas Fuchs, Sarah Langlotz), European Economic Review 112: 127-147 (2019).
• Membership has its Privileges – The Effect of Membership in International Organizations on FDI (with Heiner Mikosch and Stefan Voigt), World Development 66: 346-358 (2015).
• The Determinants of Anti-trafficking Policies – Evidence from a New Index (with Seo-Young Cho and Eric Neumayer), Scandinavian Journal of Economics 116: 429-454 (2014).
• The Role of Country-of-origin Characteristics for Foreign Direct Investment and Technical Cooperation in Post-reform India (with Peter Nunnenkamp and Krishna Chaitanya Vadlamannati), World Development 44: 88-109 (2013).
• Does Legalization of Prostitution Increase Human Trafficking? (with Seo-Young Cho and Eric Neumayer), World Development 41: 67-82 (2013).
  • Reprinted in: Women’s Human Rights 9: 138-183 (2013).
• Globalization, Economic Freedom and Human Rights (with Martin Gassebner and Lars-H.R. Siemers), Journal of Conflict Resolution 56, 3: 509-539 (2012).
• Foreign Students and Migration to the United States (with Panu Poutvaara), World Development 39, 8: 1294-1307 (2011).
• Hit and (They Will) Run: The Impact of Terrorism on Migration (with Daniel Meierrieks and Tim Krieger), Economics Letters 113, 1: 42-46 (2011).
• Read my lips: the role of information transmission in multilateral reform design (with Silvia Marchesi and Laura Sabani), Journal of International Economics 84: 86-98 (2011).
• Measuring Globalisation – Opening the Black Box. A Critical Analysis of Globalization Indices (with Noel Gaston, Pim Martens, Lotte Van Boxem), Journal of Globalization Studies 1, 1: 166-185 (2010).
  • Reprinted in: Jim Sheffield, Andrey Korotayev and Leonid Grinin (eds.), Globalization. Yesterday,  Today, and Tomorrow, chapter 8, 150-177, Emergent Publications (2013).
• Diesel price convergence and mineral oil taxation in Europe (with Tim Krieger), Applied Economics 42, 15: 1955-1961 (2010).
• Ist Globalisierung messbar? (with Andreas Fuchs), Die Volkswirtschaft 10: 9-13 (2010). In French: Peut-on mesurer la mondialisation? (with Andreas Fuchs), La Vie économique 10: 9-13 (2010).
• Globalisation, the Global Village and the Civil Society (with Noel Gaston and Pim Martens), Futures 42, 6: 574-582 (2010).
• Measuring Globalization – Gauging its Consequences (with Noel Gaston and Pim Martens), New York: Springer (2008).
  • Reviewed in: Journal of Economic Literature 47, 4: 813-814 (2009), Economica 76, 304: 779-780 (2009), Socialisme & Democratie 65, 12: 53-56 (2008).
• Has Globalisation Increased Inequality? (with Noel Gaston), Review of International Economics 16, 3: 516-536 (2008).
• The Impact of Globalization on the Composition of Government Expenditures. Evidence from Panel Data (with Jan-Egbert Sturm and Heinrich W. Ursprung), Public Choice 134, 3-4: 263-292 (2008).
• Do gasoline prices converge in a unified with non-harmonized tax rates? (with Tim Krieger), Energy Journal 29: 41-68 (2008).
• Has Globalisation Really Had No Effect on Unions? (with Noel Gaston), Kyklos 60, 2: 165-186 (2007).
• Is There a Causal Link between Currency and Debt Crises? (with Bernhard Herz and Volker Karb), International Journal of Finance and Economics 11, 4: 305-325 (2006).
• Does Globalization Affect Growth? Evidence from a new Index of Globalization, Applied Economics 38, 10: 1091-1110 (2006).
  • Reprinted in: Jonathan Michie (ed.), Globalisation and Democracy, Vol. I, chapter 10, Edward Elgar (2017). Index of Globalization: http://globalization.kof.ethz.ch/
• The Influence of Globalization on Taxes and Social Policy – an Empirical Analysis for OECD Countries, European Journal of Political Economy 22, 1: 179-201 (2006).
  • Index of Globalization: http://globalization.kof.ethz.ch/
• Globalization and Taxation in the OECD: Evidence from a new Indicator of Integration, Public Finance and Management 5, 3: 400-420 (2005).
• Der Einfluß der Globalisierung auf die Steuer- und Sozialpolitik – eine empirische Analyse für die OECD Länder, in: R. Ohr (ed.), Globalisierung – Herausforderung an die Wirtschaftspolitik, pp. 75-96, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot (2004).

Conflict

• Refineries, Pipelines and Petroleum Fields – The Impact of Oil on Conflict Around the World (with Jingke Pan, Maximilian Herrmann), CESifo Working Paper No. 12761, 2026.
• Foreign Aid and Targeted Political Violence (with Jingke Pan and Christina Schneider), CESifo Working Paper No. 11970, 2025.
• When Aid Stops, Science 392: 687-688 (2026).
• The Effect of Migration on Terror – Made at Home or Imported from Abroad? (with Martin Gassebner and Paul Schaudt), Canadian Journal of Economics 53, 4: 1703-1744 (2020).
• Weapons of Choice: The Effect of Natural Resources on Terror and Insurgencies (with Merle Kreibaum), Journal of Peace Research 53: 539-553 (2016).
• Does Terror Increase Aid? (with Andreas Fuchs), Public Choice 149: 337-363 (2011).
• Hit and (They Will) Run: The Impact of Terrorism on Migration (with Daniel Meierrieks and Tim Krieger), Economics Letters 113, 1: 42-46 (2011).
• Does government decentralization reduce domestic terror? An empirical test (with Justina A.V. Fischer), Economics Letters 111, 3: 223-225 (2011). Data on expenditure decentralization
• Government decentralization as a disincentive for transnational terror? An empirical analysis (with Justina A.V. Fischer), International Economic Review 51, 4: 981-1002 (2010).
• Does Terror Threaten Human Rights? Evidence from Panel Data (with Martin Gassebner and Lars-H.R. Siemers), Journal of Law and Economics 53, 1: 65-93 (2010).
• Does political proximity to the U.S. cause terror? (with Martin Gassebner), Economics Letters 99, 1: 27-29 (2008).   

Corruption

• Greasing the wheels of entrepreneurship? The impact of regulations and corruption on firm entry (with Martin Gassebner), Public Choice 155: 413-432 (2013).
• Does Conditionality Work? A Test for an Innovative US Aid Scheme (with Hannes Öhler and Peter Nunnenkamp), European Economic Review 56: 138-153 (2012).
• The Impact of Institutions on the Shadow Economy and Corruption – A Latent Variables Approach (with Christos Kotsogiannis and Steve McCorriston), in: F. Schneider (ed.), The Handbook on the Shadow Economy, pp. 443-468, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar (2011).
• Corruption and the shadow economy: An empirical Analysis (with Friedrich Schneider), Public Choice 144: 215-238 (2010).
• How do Institutions Affect Corruption and the Shadow Economy? (with Christos Kotsogiannis and Steve McCorriston), International Tax and Public Finance 16, 6: 773-796 (2009).
• The Nexus Between Corruption and Capital Account Restrictions (with Lars-H.R. Siemers), Public Choice 140, 1-2: 245-265 (2009).
  • 2009 Publication Award of the Friends and Sponsors of RWI
• The Economic Costs of Corruption: A Survey of the Empirical Evidence (with Thomas Herzfeld), in: F.N. De Luca (Ed.): Economic Corruption: Detection, Costs and Prevention, chapter 4, Nova Science (2008).
• Corruption Around the World: Evidence from a Structural Model (with Christos Kotsogiannis and Steve McCorriston), Journal of Comparative Economics 35, 3: 443-466 (2007).
  • Reprinted in: Jayasri Dutta and Toke S. Aidt  (eds.), Corruption and Economic Development, chapter 8, Edward Elgar (2016).
• Corruption and the shadow economy – substitutes or complements? (with Friedrich Schneider), in: M. Kreutner (ed.), The Corruption Monster – Ethik, Politik und Korruption, pp. 363-370, Czernin Verlag (2006).

Happiness

• Inequality and Happiness: When Perceived Social Mobility and Economic Reality Do Not Match (with Christian Bjørnskov, Justina A.V. Fischer, Jan Schnellenbach, Kai Gehring), Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 91 75-92 (2013).
• Does Government Ideology affect Personal Happiness? A Test (with Hannes Öhler), Economics Letters 111, 2: 161-165 (2011).
• Formal Institutions and Subjective Well-Being: Revisiting the Cross-Country Evidence (with Christian Bjørnskov and Justina A.V. Fischer), European Journal of Political Economy 26, 4: 419-430 (2010).
• On Decentralization and Life Satisfaction (with Christian Bjørnskov and Justina A.V. Fischer), Economics Letters 99, 1: 147-151 (2008).
• Cross-Country Determinants of Life Satisfaction: Exploring Different Determinants Across Groups in Society (with Christian Bjørnskov and Justina A.V. Fischer), Social Choice and Welfare 30, 1: 119-173 (2008).
• The Bigger the Better? Evidence of the Effect of Government Size on Life Satisfaction Around the World (with Christian Bjørnskov and Justina A.V. Fischer), Public Choice 127, 3: 267-292 (2007).