Jeffrey F. Timmons

Associate Professor of Political Science Affiliation: NYU Abu Dhabi
Education: MSc in Economic History, London School of Economics, PhD in Political Science, University of California San Diego

Research Areas: Public finance; Corporate lobbying; Economic development; Labor markets; Inequality


A native of Denver, CO, Jeffrey loves food, travel, sports, and the Nuggets and Broncos. He is also viciously addicted to politics, economics, and international affairs, hence, his choice of professions.

Jeffrey joined NYUAD in September 2015 as an Associate Professor of Political Science, where he teaches courses in political economy and international politics.

Jeffrey's research engages a variety of political economy topics, including public finance (taxes/spending), corporate political activity (lobbying), economic development, labor markets, and inequality. His main ongoing projects examine the political geography of firms and the relationship between lobbying and appropriations; in addition, he continues to work on fiscal policy, human capital formation, and the mechanisms that generate fiscal accountability.

Before coming to NYUAD, Jeffrey worked as an Associate Professor of Strategy at IE Business School in Spain, a Professor of Political Science at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM), and a Visiting Assistant Professor at UCLA. He has been an external consultant for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Andean Development Bank (CAF), and Harstad Strategic Research (polling for Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign). Before graduate school, he worked as a journalist in Venezuela, covering politics, economics and a variety of industries, notably oil, mining, and finance. His primary employer was the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

In addition to the UAE, Jeffrey has lived in the United States, Mexico, Venezuela, the UK, Brazil, and Spain.

Courses Taught