Kara Ross Camarena is doctoral student in the Department of Government at Harvard University. She studies the the political economy of international migration and employs formal modeling, case studies and quantitative empirical analysis in her research. She has done fieldwork in Tanzania, Kenya and Australia.
Kara's dissertation research examines the transnational politics of migration. The first article develops and tests a causal mechanism through which the movement of large populations, like those in refugees crises, increase violence in their destination. The second paper draws on case evidence from fieldwork, interviews and archival information to develop a theory of refugee policy selection. The last paper builds and tests a model of choosing asylum and foreign aid policy jointly and considers the relative efficacy of a range of policies aimed at limitting migrant flows. The dissertation is part of a broader research agenda that explores the political economy of migration and its implications for security, conflict, international aid and development.
Kara has a MPP from the Harris School of Public Policy and a Bachelor’s degree from the College at the University of Chicago. Prior to pursuing graduate studies, she worked in the non-profit sector in the United States and in development in Tanzania.