I am a Visiting Professor in the Political Science Department at the Federal University of Pernambuco in Recife, Brazil. During the 2015–2016 academic year, I was a postdoctoral researcher at the  Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions (CSDI) at Vanderbilt University (2015-2016). I received a PhD in Political Science (Comparative Politics) from the University of Notre Dame (2015). My research focuses primarily on the areas of corruption, public opinion, distributive politics, and voting behavior. As a Comparativist, my primary region of interest is Latin America, with particular emphasis on Brazil. My PhD dissertation explains how accountability for corruption works and why corrupt politicians survive democratic elections. As part of my dissertation project, I completed 10 months of fieldwork in Brazil, where I conducted focus groups, interviews, and a nationwide survey experiment.

Aside from my dissertation project, I have conducted research on Conditional Cash Transfer programs and political accountability in Latin America. I am also participating in a number of side collaborative research projects. They include survey experiments that shed light on the impact of corruption on voters' attitudes in Colombia, Argentina, and El Salvador, and also a project analyzing politicians' strategies, linkages, and campaign images in Latin American and African countries.

Prior to attending Notre Dame, I earned a masters degree in Political Science at the University of São Paulo (Brazil), a BA from the Federal University of Pernambuco (Brazil), and was an exchange student at the University of Texas at Austin.

CV

Contact:
Email: narapavao@gmail.com