Mónica Unda Gutiérrez

I am an Associate (Teaching) Professor in the Political Science and International Relations Department at the University of Southern California. Before joining USC, I was a Research Professor at El Colegio de México in Mexico City.

​

My research focuses on municipal finances and the political economy of taxation and fiscal policy, with central focus on Mexico. My current book project seeks to explain variation in public revenue and expenditure in Mexico’s largest urban municipalities as a lens to understand local government responsiveness. Contrary to existing theory, I find that electoral democracy often drives municipal governments to enact fiscal policies that conflict with the interests of citizens, a tendency that I label “fiscal populism”.

I received a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Development Studies from the University of London (SOAS and LSE respectively). I am a member of the National Researchers System (SNI) of the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACyT) in Mexico and my research has been funded by CONACyT and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.