Associate Professor of Political Science and International Relations
University of Southern California
I study interest representation, accountability institutions, and the political economy of development, with a focus on Mexico and Latin America. My research examines how organizations shape whose interests influence public policy and who benefits from economic change. I combine field research, surveys, and experimental methods, often through longstanding collaborations with civil society partners in Mexico.
My book, Evading the Patronage Trap: Interest Representation in Mexico, examines how small-business and peasant organizations pursue representation in development policy, and why some succeed in escaping a specialization in patronage politics. A related research agenda explores how access-to-information institutions can support citizen-driven accountability.
I am currently working on two book projects. The Fruits of Our Labor examines how public policy, producer organizations, and community institutions shape inclusive and sustainable development in Mexico’s agricultural export industries. With Mariana Rangel Padilla and Steven Samford, I am developing Escaping the Middle-Income Trap, which investigates when multinational firms’ relationships with domestic businesses and public institutions foster economic upgrading.
I also co-lead ENLACE (Economy in North America Laboratory for Collaboration and Exchange), a cross-border research and student-training lab connecting USC, the University of Michigan, and Tecnológico de Monterrey. ENLACE is a long-term home for collaborative research on Mexico–U.S. economic relations, bringing together multiple projects on business, public policy, and development.
You can reach me at brian.pr@usc.edu.