About the Program on Poverty and Governance

The Program on Poverty and Governance was established at Stanford University in 2009 to study the factors that affect good governance and poverty alleviation in developing countries. Poverty relief requires active government involvement in the provision of public services such as drinking water, healthcare, sanitation, education, roads, electricity and public safety. Failure to deliver public services is a major impediment to the alleviation of poverty in the developing world. 

The program conducts empirical research, bringing together experts from across the disciplines of political science, economics, law, medicine and education to increase understanding of the complex causal linkages between political institutions, the quality of governance, and the capacity of developing societies to meet basic human needs. It serves as a critical training ground for doctoral students, undergraduates and postdoctoral scholars, with an active outreach program of conferences and workshops in the U.S. and abroad. Conceived in a broadly comparative international perspective, the program is engaged in cross-national and field-based research projects, with a particular focus on Latin America and Mexico.  

Led by political scientist Beatriz Magaloni, with key collaborators from across Stanford, the University of California, San Diego and the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, the program employs a multi-method research strategy that combines statistical and spatial analysis using observational data, experimental designs and in-depth qualitative ethnographic fieldwork.

Brochure (740.9KB )