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Ken Shotts

Ken   Shotts
Professor, Political Economy
Contact Info
KenShotts
The David S. and Ann M. Barlow Professor in Political Economy
Professor of Political Science (by courtesy), School of Humanities and Sciences
Academic Area: 
Political Economy
Additional Administrative Titles
CoDirector of the Strategy Beyond Markets: Building Competitive Advantage Through Government Relations and Public Affairs Executive Program

Research Statement

Professor Shotts uses game theory to analyze how elections and political institutions influence policy choices made by government officials. He has published papers on presidential leadership, racial redistricting, term limits, and the politics of regulatory enforcement. He is currently doing research on several topics, including electoral accountability, policy entrepreneurship, political risk, and industry-level self-regulation.

Research Interests

  • Political economy
  • Electoral accountability
  • Policy entrepreneurship

Teaching Statement

Ken teaches GSB classes on Strategy Beyond Markets and Business Ethics. He also teaches in several Executive Education programs, including the Stanford Executive Program, Executive Program for Strategy and Organization, and Executive Leadership Development.

Bio

Kenneth W. Shotts is The David S. and Ann M. Barlow Professor of Political Economy at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He received his BA in Political Science from Stanford in 1993 and his PhD from the GSB in 1999. In addition to his time at the Stanford, he has taught at Northwestern and the University of Michigan, and has been a visiting scholar at the Hoover Institution and Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

Academic Degrees

  • PhD in Political Economy, Stanford GSB, 1999
  • BA in Political Science, Stanford University, 1993

Academic Appointments

  • David S. and Ann M. Barlow Professor of Political Economy, Stanford GSB, 2011-present
  • Professor of Political Economy, Stanford GSB, 2009-2011
  • Associate Professor of Political Economy (with tenure), Stanford GSB, 2006-2009
  • Associate Professor of Political Economy (untenured), Stanford GSB, 2003-2006
  • Assistant Professor of Political Science, Northwestern University, 1998-2003

Awards and Honors

  • Stanford GSB FacultyTrust Faculty Fellow, 2013-2014

Publications

Journal Articles

Ken Shotts, Carlos A. Sanchez-Martinez. Statistics, Politics, and Policy. 2015, Vol. 6, Issue 1/2, Pages 97-116.
Alexander V. Hirsch, Ken Shotts. American Economic Review. 2015, Vol. 105, Issue 4, Pages 1646-1664.
Alexander V. Hirsch, Ken Shotts. American Journal of Political Science. January 2012, Vol. 56, Issue 1, Pages 67-83.
Scott Ashworth, Ken Shotts. Journal of Public Economics. December 2010, Vol. 94, Issue 11-12, Pages 838–847.
Ken Shotts, Alan E. Wiseman. The Journal of Politics. January 2010, Vol. 72, Issue 1, Pages 209-226.
Justin Fox, Ken Shotts. The Journal of Politics. October 2009, Vol. 71, Issue 4, Pages 1225-1237.
Ken Shotts, Brandice Canes-Wrone. American Political Science Review. May 21, 2007, Vol. 101, Issue 2, Pages 272-288.
Michael C. Herron, Ken Shotts. Legislative Studies Quarterly. August 2006, Vol. 31, Issue 3, Pages 383-403.
Ken Shotts. Social Choice and Welfare. 2006, Vol. 27, Issue 2, Pages 251-261.
Brandice Canes-Wrone, Ken Shotts. American Journal of Political Science. October 2004, Vol. 48, Issue 4, Pages 690–706.
Ken Shotts. American Journal of Political Science. 2002, Vol. 46, Issue 2, Pages 398-414.
Brandice Canes-Wrone, Michael C. Herron, Ken Shotts. American Journal of Political Science. July 2001, Vol. 45, Issue 3, Pages 532–550.
Jonathan Bendor, Terry M. Moe, Ken Shotts. American Political Science Review. March 2001, Vol. 95, Issue 1, Pages 169-190.
Jonathan N. Wand, Ken Shotts, Jasjeet S. Sekhon, Walter R. Mebane, Jr., Michael C. Herron, Henry E. Brady. American Political Science Review. 2001, Vol. 95, Issue 4, Pages 793-810.

Working Papers

Courses Taught

Degree Courses

2015-16

This course extends the foundations developed in P680 by applying techniques of microeconomic analysis and game theory to the study of political behavior and institutions. The techniques include information economics, games of incomplete...

2014-15

With leadership comes responsibility. This course explores the numerous ethical duties faced by managers and organizations. It combines analytical frameworks with the latest findings on human behavior to inform a wide range of ethical decisions...

This course extends the foundations developed in P680 by applying techniques of microeconomic analysis and game theory to the study of political behavior and institutions. The techniques include information economics, games of incomplete...

Stanford Case Studies

Looking Inside: Intel and Conflict Minerals | ETH-5
Kenneth Shotts, Sheila Melvin2015
Barclays and the Libor: Anatomy of a Scandal | ETH-03
Ken Shotts, Sheila Melvin2013
Wastewater Recycling: Public Relations for a Controversial Technology | P73
Ken Shotts, David Hoyt, Ashish Jhina2012
Health Care Reform: 2009-2010 | P74
Alexander Hirsch, Ken Shotts2011

Insights by Stanford Business

February 8, 2016
Four Stanford GSB professors show how our elected officials win over voters.
February 1, 2016
Stanford GSB professors share their reading list for topics related to impact.
August 13, 2015
How do you code ethics into autonomous automobiles? And who is responsible when things go awry?
June 18, 2015
Political risk is inevitable, but there are ways to mitigate it.
November 5, 2014
What the Cuban Missile Crisis can teach business leaders about monopolists and informal power.
November 7, 2011
Californians are trying a new way of drawing district lines, and Cynthia Dai, MBA '93, is a key player.
October 9, 2011
A political economist says an effective media makes politicians less likely to pander.