David Stasavage

David Stasavage
Alma mater	Cornell University (BA, 1989), Harvard University (PhD, 1995)
Occupation(s)	Political scientist, academic
Years active	1999–present
Known for	Expertise in democracy and political economy; Dean for the Social Sciences at New York University; Julius Silver Professor of Politics at NYU; co-editor of Annual Review of Political Science
Awards	Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2015)

David Stasavage is a U.S.-based political scientist whose expertise lies in democracy and political economy. He holds the position of Dean for the Social Sciences and is the Julius Silver Professor within the Department of Politics at New York University. Additionally, he maintains a professorial affiliation with NYU's School of Law. In 2015, he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Education and early career

Stasavage completed his undergraduate studies at Cornell University in 1989 before obtaining his PhD from Harvard University in 1995. Following this, he gained professional experience in Europe working with the World Bank, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Centre for the Study of African Economies, and the Bank of England.

Academic career

His academic journey began in 1999 as a faculty associate at the London School of Economics, where he advanced to reader by 2005. Upon returning to the United States in 2006, Stasavage joined New York University as an associate professor, was promoted to full professor in 2009, and attained the Julius Silver Professorship of Politics in 2015. He subsequently assumed the role of dean for the social sciences.

Stasavage’s scholarship centers on the evolution of state institutions throughout Western Europe and Africa, addressing themes such as democracy, political economy, development economics, public debt, central banking, education policy, welfare systems, and income inequality.

His 2003 publication, Public Debt and the Birth of the Democratic State: France and Great Britain, 1688-1789, investigates the relationships among public borrowing, representative institutions, and fiscal trustworthiness during the eighteenth century. The 2011 book States of Credit: Size, Power, and the Development of European Polities expands on these topics by exploring European parliamentary bodies and sovereign debt across medieval and early modern eras; this work earned the American Political Science Association’s Best Book Award in European Politics and Society in 2012.

In collaboration with Kenneth F. Scheve, Taxing the Rich (2016) examines how democratic governance influences taxation policies focused on equity and progressive tax structures. His 2020 volume, The Decline and Rise of Democracy: A Global History from Antiquity to Today, presents a comprehensive institutional analysis of democratic evolution worldwide.

Honors

Stasavage was honored with election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2015. In July 2023, he took on the role of co-editor for the Annual Review of Political Science.

Books

• Public Debt and the Birth of the Democratic State (2004, Cambridge University Press)
• States of Credit: Size, Power, and the Development of European Polities (2011, Princeton University Press)
• With Kenneth Scheve, Taxing the Rich: A History of Fiscal Fairness in the United States and Europe (2016, Princeton University Press)
• The Decline and Rise of Democracy: A Global History from Antiquity to Today (2020, Princeton University Press)

Papers

• Keefer, Philip, and David Stasavage. "The Limits of Delegation: Veto Players, Central Bank Independence, and the Credibility of Monetary Policy." American Political Science Review, August 2003, vol. 97, no. 3, pp. 407–423.
• Stasavage, David. "Open-Door or Closed-Door? Transparency in Domestic and International Bargaining." International Organization, October 2004, vol. 58, no. 4.
• Stasavage, David. "Democracy and Education Spending in Africa." American Journal of Political Science, April 2005, vol. 49, no. 2, pp. 343–358.
• Scheve, Kenneth, and David Stasavage. "Religion and Preferences for Social Insurance." Quarterly Journal of Political Science, July 2006, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 255–286.
• Stasavage, David. "Representation and Consent: Why They Arose in Europe and Not Elsewhere." Annual Review of Political Science, May 2016, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 145–162.
• Scheve, Kenneth, and David Stasavage. "Wealth Inequality and Democracy." Annual Review of Political Science, May 2017, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 451–468.