Welcome! 

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) and my dissertation received the 2021 Outstanding Dissertation Award from the National Tax Association (NTA). I was previously a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Stanford King Center on Global Development. 

My research interests are at the intersection of 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.,  effort-suppressing beliefs), and their effects on development.  

I conduct fieldwork in the D.R. Congo, where I help manage a non-profit survey organization called ODEKA (Organisation d'Etudes Economiques sur le Kasai). 

I am a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and an Affiliate of the Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development (BREAD), the  Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), the Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA), and Evidence in Governance and Politics (EGAP).

Here's my CV and a description of my research is here. 

E-mail: augustin.bergeron@usc.edu