Nicholas G. Napolio, Ph.D.

About Me

I am Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Riverside. I received my PhD in political science from the University of Southern California.

My research focuses on American political institutions, specifically the bureaucracy, Congress, and the separation of powers. In my work, I use modern tools of social scientific research – including causal inference and computational social science – on a range of contemporary and historical data to develop and test political scientific theories of substantive interest. In particular, my research examines whether and how bureaucrats achieve their preferred policy outcomes despite presidential or congressional opposition, and how formal and informal institutions within American legislatures shape policy outcomes in both the short and long terms.

My research has been published or is forthcoming in the American Political Science Review; American Politics Research; Journal of Policy History; Journal of Historical Political Economy; Journal of Political Institutions and Political Economy; Journal of Public Policy; Party Politics; Politics, Groups, and Identities; Political Science Research and Methods; Presidential Studies Quarterly; and State Politics & Policy Quarterly. Please find my publications and working papers in the Research tab above.

You may download my C.V. here and contact me here.