Laura Paler

International Development and Globalization
Columbia University
New York, NY



Laura Paler is a doctoral student in the Department of Political Science, specializing in comparative politics and the political economy of developing countries. Laura's research builds on the 'resource curse' literature by investigating the relationship between fiscal structure and incentives for good governance in developing countries reliant on taxation (rather than natural resources). She is also a researcher on a World Bank project evaluating the impact of community driven development on post-conflict reintegration in Aceh, Indonesia, where she recently spent three months conducting field research and designing a household survey. Laura's research interests also include the political and economic development of China, and she has published in China Quarterly on the emergence of public legislative hearings there. Prior to arriving at Columbia, Laura worked for the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, designing and implementing democracy assistance programs in China, Hong Kong and Cambodia. She holds an MPhil in Comparative Government from Oxford University, St. Antony's College and a B.A. from The George Washington University.

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