Angie Heeyoung Jo

Welcome!  I am a PhD Candidate in Political Science at MIT, specializing in comparative  and American political economy.  I will join Bates College as an Assistant Professor in Political Economy starting Fall 2026.

I study social policy, crisis governance, public administration, and institutional change in the advanced industrialized democracies.  My dissertation, The Crisis Welfare State: The Liberal Paradox in Governance of Collective Risks, examines how minimal welfare regimes like the United States respond to collective crises—such as pandemics, financial collapses, and natural disasters—and when temporary interventions evolve into lasting welfare state expansions vs. fade as short-term relief.

My work has been generously supported by the NSF/APSA Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant, the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Doctoral Scholarship, the Consortium on the American Political Economy, the Oxford Global Priorities Institute, and an MIT Presidential Graduate Fellowship.  I have received the APSA Section Prize for Best Paper in American Political Economy and the NEPSA Robert C. Wood Prize for Best Paper Written by a Graduate Student.

I hold a BA in History of Art and Architecture summa cum laude from Harvard and a Master of City Planning degree from MIT.  I previously worked in investment at Bridgewater Associates.  I love running, horseback riding, salsa dancing, and my American bully puppy Luna.  I grew up between Seoul, California, and Vancouver 🇨🇦