Iris E. Acquarone

Hello! I am a PhD Candidate in the Department of Political Science at Rice University specializing in Comparative Politics. I am originally from Montevideo, Uruguay, where I obtained a B.A. in Political Science and a Graduate Diploma in Economics from the Facultad de Ciencias Sociales of the Universidad de la República (FCS-UdelaR). 

My substantive research* investigates the causes and consequences of political representation, with a particular focus on historically marginalized groups in democracies, spanning from Western Europe and the Americas to a global scale. Methodologically, I draw on a combination of observational studies, quasi and randomized experiments, causal inference, and machine learning tools. Additionally, key to my research is (1) working with specific populations of interest, such as political elites, prospective candidates, and citizens and activists from marginalized communities and; (2) developing new measures and data sets to better study political representation. 

My interest in inequality transcends my research. I have also worked on reducing gender and racial inequality from a public policy standpoint in association with researchers and social, governmental and international organizations in Uruguay. I intend to continue promoting change through publicly engaged research.

My CV is available here.

*As part of my dissertation I'm currently conducting field work with political elites. Therefore, all references to my thesis work are temporarily removed from my website.