THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
Michael Albertus is a professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Chicago. His research examines democracy and dictatorship, inequality and redistribution, property rights, and civil conflict. His most recent book, Property Without Rights: Origins and Consequences of the Property Rights Gap, published by Cambridge University Press in 2021, examines why governments that implement land reform programs only rarely grant property rights to land beneficiaries and how that impacts development and inclusion. It won honorable mentions for Best Book award by APSA's Democracy and Autocracy section and the Riker Book Award for best book in political economy. Albertus' work has been published in the American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, World Politics, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Journal of Development Economics, Quarterly Journal of Political Science, Comparative Political Studies, International Studies Quarterly, and elsewhere.
Recent Research / Recent Publications
Why Land Reform Matters in South Africa’s Election, Foreign Policy, May 27, 2024
Property Without Rights: Origins and Consequences of the Property Rights Gap (Cambridge University Press, 2021).
“Land Reform and Civil Conflict: Theory and Evidence from Peru,” American Journal of Political Science (2020).
Authoritarianism and the Elite Origins of Democracy (Cambridge University Press, 2018).
“Unlikely Democrats: Economic Elite Uncertainty Under Dictatorship and Support for Democratization,” with Victor Gay. American Journal of Political Science (2017).