I am a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Government at Harvard University. My research focuses on comparative political economy, the politics of the welfare state, and economic development. I am interested in the effects of global development initiatives on public policy, and in particular on the provision of public social services and redistribution. My research aims to gain a deeper understanding of the politics of redistribution in the developing world and to determine how modern development initiatives alter the incentives to welfare state development. I received a B.A. in Political Science and Economics from Texas A&M University in 2011.