Welcome!
I am an economist interested in development economics, public economics, and political economy. My primary research agenda explores the determinants of state capacity and tax capacity in particular. A second agenda focuses on the origins of social ties (e.g., kinship), beliefs (e.g., zero-sum thinking), and their effects on development.
I am an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Southern California (USC). I graduated from Harvard University in May 2021 with a Ph.D. in Political Economy and Government (Economics Track). I was previously a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Stanford King Center on Global Development.
My field work is based in the D.R. Congo, where I help manage a non-profit survey organization called ODEKA (Organisation d'Etudes Economiques sur le Kasai).
Here's my CV and a description of my research is here.
E-mail: augustin.bergeron@usc.edu