Welcome!
I am a PhD Candidate in Political Science at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and I will join the University of Southampton as Assistant Professor in the Department of Politics and International Relations in 2023/2024.
My research focuses on quantitative comparative politics and political behaviour using experiments and causal inference methods. My doctoral dissertation examines the effects of political crises on elite behaviour and voters’ preferences. You can find more information on my research below.
I was a Teaching Fellow at the School of Public Policy at LSE in the 2022/2023 academic year. You can find more information on my teaching experience below.
Prior to joining LSE, I completed a Master in Public Administration in International Development from Harvard University and a Bachelor in Economics from Universidad del Pacífico. I have worked as a researcher in governance issues for The World Bank, J-PAL Latin America and as a civil servant in Peru. Several of my research questions emerged out of my experience as a practitioner of public policy in the Global South.
You can contact me at v.cheng-matsuno (at) soton.ac.uk
Publications
Cheng-Matsuno, Vanessa, Florian Foos, Peter John and Asli Unan. 2023. ‘Do text messages increase voter registration? Evidence from RCTs with a local authority and an advocacy organisation in the UK‘ Electoral Studies 81:102572 – URL
Highlights
Local Authority Trial: Coefficient plots with 95% CI; (N 493).
Advocacy Organisation Trial: Coefficient plots with 95% CI; N 2396 (registration) and 2035 (turnout).
We present the results of two RCTs that aimed to increase voter registration in the UK using SMS-text messages, relying mainly on behavioural messaging – Abstract
Working Papers
‘Do Voters Differentially Punish Transnational Corruption?’ (with Daniel Berliner) – Accepted, European Journal of Political Research – PAP
The Null Effect of Social Media Ads on Voter Registration: Three Corroborating Trials’ (with Florian Foos, Peter John, Asli Unan) – Media SSRN preprint
‘Government, Interrupted: Local Politicians’ Decision-Making in Times of Political Crisis’ – Abstract
‘Using the Party as a Shield? How British MPs Explain Policy Positions to Constituents’ (with Daniel Bischof, Gidon Cohen, Sarah Cohen, Florian Foos, Patrick M. Kuhn, Kyriaki Nanou, Nick Vivyan and Neil Visalvanich) – OSF preprint
‘Legacy Bureaucrats. Evidence from Guatemala’
Work in Progress
‘Is Social Mobilisation Gendered? Evidence from Spillover Experiments across Three Democracies’ (with Eline de Rooij and Florian Foos)
Teaching
London School of Economics
- Teaching Fellow, School of Public Policy – 2022/2023
- Head Class Teacher – MN2196 Data Analysis for Management Decision Making – 2022
- Graduate Teaching Assistant
- GV482 Political Science and Political Economy: Current Issues – 2021
- GV481 Quantitative Methods for Political Science – 2020
King’s College London
- Graduate Teaching Assistant
- Economic Analysis of Emerging Economies – 2020
- Quantitative Methods for Political Science – graduate, 2019
- Political Sociology of Social Networks – 2019
- Quantitative Methods for Political Science – undergraduate, 2018
- Comparing Political Systems, 2017-2019
Media
- CIVICA Data Science Days – Florence, October 2022
Vanessa Cheng-Matsuno 