Alexander Fouirnaies

I am a professor at the University of Chicago’s Harris School in the political economy group.

I study how institutions shape the election and behavior of legislators, particularly focusing on the role of interest groups and money in the political process.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Alexander Fouirnaies (forthcoming): Can Interest Groups Influence Elections? Evidence from British Trade Unions 1900-2019 (American Journal of Political Science)
Julia Payson, Alexander Fouirnaies & Andrew B. Hall (2023): “Decomposing the Source of the Gender Gap in Legislative Committee Service: Evidence from US states” Political Science Research & Methods 11: 191–197. [replication materials]
Alexander Fouirnaies & Andrew B. Hall (2022): “How Do Electoral Incentives Affect Legislator Behavior? Evidence from U.S. State Legislatures” American Political Science Review 116 (2): 662-676. [replication materials]
Alexander Fouirnaies & Anthony Fowler (2022): “Do Campaign Contributions Buy Favorable Policies? Evidence from the Insurance Industry.” Political Science Research & Methods 10: 18-32. [replication materials]
Alexander Fouirnaies (2021): “How Do Campaign Spending Limits Affect Elections? Evidence from Great Britain 1885-2019” American Political Science Review 115(2): 395-411. [replication materials]
Alexander Fouirnaies (2021): “Do Newspapers Benefit Incumbents? Evidence from Denmark 1849–1915” Quarterly Journal of Political Science 16 (4): 505-532. [replication materials]
Alexander Fouirnaies & Andrew B. Hall (2020): “How Divisive Primaries Hurt Parties: Evidence From Near-Runoffs in US Legislatures.” Journal of Politics 82(1): 43-56.
Alexander Fouirnaies (2018): “When Are Agenda Setters Valuable?” American Journal of Political Science 62(1): 176-191. [replication materials]
Alexander Fouirnaies & Andrew B. Hall (2018): “How Do Interest Groups Seek Access to Committees?” American Journal of Political Science 62(1): 132-147. [replication materials]
Pamela Ban, Alexander Fouirnaies, Andrew B. Hall & James Snyder, Jr. (2017): “How Newspapers Reveal Political Power.” Political Science Research & Methods. 7(4): 661-678. [replication materials]
James Feigenbaum, Alexander Fouirnaies & Andrew B. Hall (2017): “The Majority-Party Disadvantage: Revising Theories of Legislative Organization.” Quarterly Journal of Political Science. 12(3): 269-300. [replication materials]
Alexander Fouirnaies & Hande Mutlu-Eren (2015): “English Bacon: Co-partisan Bias in Intergovernmental Grant Allocation”. Journal of Politics. 77(3): 805-817. [replication materials]
Alexander Fouirnaies & Andrew B. Hall (2014): “The Financial Incumbency Advantage: Causes and Consequences”. Journal of Politics. 76(3): 711-724.
Andrew Eggers & Alexander Fouirnaies (2014): “Representation and District Magnitude in Plurality Systems” Electoral Studies. 33: 267-277.

Working Papers

Chasing the Many or the Few: Electoral Incentives and Constituency-Building Efforts in Campaign Spending and Legislative Activities (with Dan Smith)
How Do Electoral Incentives Affect Legislator Behavior? Evidence from Lifetime Appointments of Danish Legislators in 1849-1917 (with Benjamin Egerod)