Research
Publications
Peer Reviewed
Ijaz, Syeda ShahBano. (2026). “Moral Hazard or State Capacity? U.S. Military Assistance and Political Violence in Pakistan.” Journal of Conflict Resolution, 70(2–3): 330–358.
Adida, Claire; Cottiero, Christina; Falabella, Leonardo; Gotti, Isabelle; Ijaz, ShahBano; Phillips, Gregoire; and Michael Seese. (2022). “Taking the Cloth: How Religious Appeals Increase Compliance with COVID-19 Prevention Measures.” Journal of Experimental Political Science, 1–10.
Editor Reviewed
Ijaz, Syeda ShahBano. (2023). “Determining Development: The Impact of White Feminism on Women of Color.” Southwestern Journal of International Law, XXIX(2): 257–266. Editor review, student-edited U.S. law review, published.
Book Project
Accessing the Last Mile: How Foreign Aid Restructures Local Politics in Pakistan
Abstract : Accessing the Last Mile presents an empirically rigorous account of foreign aid and local politics in developing democracies. Through a mixed-methods approach combining administrative data and survey research, it shows how aid incentivizes marginalized citizens to demand access from local politicians, who respond by providing facilitative services. The project draws on nearly three years of fieldwork with Pakistan’s foreign-aid-funded Benazir Income Support Program, including a survey experiment with 2,800 potential beneficiaries and interviews with 26 local councilors. In 2027, I will conduct a lab-in-the-field experiment with development bureaucrats in Pakistan to examine how AI shapes eligibility decisions for foreign aid recipients. As foreign aid suffers a setback following USAID’s shuttering, this project highlights how aid can give citizens a basis for demanding state services, creating forms of political exchange otherwise unavailable to citizens excluded from public-goods provision.
Under Review
“Do Citizens Care about Public Program Funding? Not During a Public Health Crisis.” Revise & Resubmit at International Interactions. Double-blind peer review, Q1 journal. Will be resubmitted after revision on September 26, 2026.
“Foreign Aid, Trust in Government and Compliance with COVID-19 Prevention Measures: Evidence from Pakistan.” Under review at British Journal of Political Science. Awarded UCSD South Asia Initiative Best Graduate Student Paper, 2022.
Working Papers
Accessing the Last-Mile: Evidence on Aid and Accountability from Pakistan Working paper available and included in pre-tenure file.
Foreign Aid and Voter Preferences: Experimental Evidence from Pakistan Working paper available and included in pre-tenure file.
How does foreign aid interrupt the fiscal contract between voters and politicians as an unearned resource that politicians can use to seek electoral leverage? Recent literature has attributed the electoral consequences of foreign aid to credit claiming by politicians or to their ability to allocate funds strategically. However, both these mechanisms assume information asymmetry: if voters were better informed about politicians’ programmatic efforts, they would not reward politicians for foreign aid. Yet in countries with low tax-to-GDP ratios and high aid dependency, voters adapt their expectations in the light of foreign aid and elect politicians who are more likely to secure foreign aid funding for their constituency. They do this because politicians’ programmatic promises suffer from time inconsistency and uncertainty; in weak institutional and fiscal conditions, politicians cannot credibly commit to initiating broad-based public goods programs.
Results from a survey experiment in Pakistan suggest that voters are more likely to choose candidates with characteristics that signal their ability to secure foreign aid funding. Voters also select public goods that provide them immediate benefits. Thus, voters consciously account for the presence of foreign aid while making voting decisions and do not vote for politicians on the basis of misinformation.
Colonial Shadows and Development Assistance: Public Perceptions of Foreign Aid from Former Colonial Powers with Michael Huang and Crispin Beyogle. Working paper available and included in pre-tenure file; equal contribution by all authors.
Foreign Aid and Institutions in Pakistan with Sarah Thompson. Pre-Analysis Plan available and included in pre-tenure file; equal contribution by both authors.
Immigrants Care Differently: Foreign Policy Preferences and the New Dynamics of Polarization in the U.S. with Naima Green-Riley. Pre-Analysis Plan available and included in pre-tenure file; equal contribution by both authors.
Other Publications
Media
“What would persuade South Asians to get vaccinated against Covid-19?” Monkey Cage, The Washington Post (2021). Available here
“Do foreign funded aid programmes encourage women to increase their political participation?” DAWN, Pakistan (2018). Available here
Policy
“Post-Conflict Recovery and PeaceBuilding.” Background Paper, World Development Report (2011). With Anke Hoeffler (Oxford University) and Sarah von Billerbeck (Reading University). Available here
“ODA in Conflict-Affected States: Can it assist economic growth?” Social Science Policy Bulletin (2011). Available here