Saad Gulzar

Saad Gulzar is an assistant professor of political science at Stanford University. His research asks under what conditions can representative government – one that provides equality of voice and influence – improve people’s lives? Focusing on South Asia, he poses two broad sets of questions:

In developing countries, does representative government improve redistribution at the cost of policy efficiency? His work shows that broadening political representation can improve policies both on the efficiency and redistribution margins. He argues that taking electoral incentives seriously holds the key to making politics work for development.

How can societies transition towards more representative government? He examines long-term historical processes of transitions and their policy consequences. He also studies how barriers that prevent broad political participation can be overcome both at the individual and organizational level. His work shows politics can be made more inclusive and that doing so can improve policy outcomes.

He received his PhD in political science at New York University in 2017.