People Feature

Maria Puolakkainen

DPhil in Politics

I am a DPhil student in politics working on questions in political economy at the Department of Politics and International Relations. I am interested in the institutional persistence of extreme economic inequality, especially state capture by interest groups, with a regional focus on Latin America.

My PhD research examines state-capital relations and business power in violent democracies, with a focus on Brazil and Mexico. I explore how campaign donations and lobbying by politically connected firms are linked to public contracts, subsidies, tax and regulatory advantages.  

My other work investigates the political dimensions of organized crime and violent non-state armed groups, particularly the impact of criminal governance on the provision of public goods in Colombia. I have also worked extensively on criminal violence and territorial contests between prison factions and militia groups in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo states in Brazil.

My main focus is on quantitative methods and causal inference, but I also use qualitative case studies. I completed my MPhil in Latin American Studies at St. Antony’s College with a high distinction in my dissertation, and hold a BSc in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (major in Economics) from the University of Warwick.

Previously, I worked as a researcher of political violence and protests in Brazil at the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), as a consultant at a Colombian NGO serving Venezuelan migrants (Famicove), and as an investment banking analyst in Nordic mergers and acquisitions at Nomura International.

Maria Puolakkainen I
Attribution:

Tom Weller Photography