Research

Interests

Melina Platas's research interests include comparative politics, African politics, voting behavior and elections, global health, political economy of development, and Islam in Africa.

Highlighted Research

Meet the Candidates: Information and Accountability in Primary and General Elections

Co-PI: Pia Raffler, Yale University

SMS for Better Service Provision in Uganda

Co-PIs: Guy Grossman, University of Pennsylvania
Jonathan Rodden, Stanford University

The Religious Roots of Inequality in Africa

Across much of sub-Saharan Africa, Muslims have lower educational attainment than Christians, with fewer years of education, lower school attendance rates, and lower literacy rates.

Research Group in Network Science

Substantive areas of research range from neighborhood segregation, to boundary conditions of diffusion, to trust and betrayal, to firm networks.