Drew Stommes
@drewstommes.bsky.social
Postdoctoral Associate in the Dept. of Politics at NYU. Studying democracy and conflict in South Asia. Minnesota native. (Website: https://drew-stommes.github.io/)
Cool new working paper worth checking out: "Cross-Validated Causal Inference: a Modern Method to Combine Experimental and Observational Data" arxiv.org/pdf/2511.00727
November 18, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Cool new working paper worth checking out: "Cross-Validated Causal Inference: a Modern Method to Combine Experimental and Observational Data" arxiv.org/pdf/2511.00727
This is an excellent review article discussing open questions/challenges in causality and causal inference. arxiv.org/pdf/2508.17099
October 22, 2025 at 8:17 PM
This is an excellent review article discussing open questions/challenges in causality and causal inference. arxiv.org/pdf/2508.17099
I’m very much looking forward to this soon-to-be-released South Asian history book—titled Apostles of Development: Six Economists and the World They Made—by Prof. David Engerman at Yale. global.oup.com/academic/pro...
May 5, 2025 at 8:17 PM
I’m very much looking forward to this soon-to-be-released South Asian history book—titled Apostles of Development: Six Economists and the World They Made—by Prof. David Engerman at Yale. global.oup.com/academic/pro...
If your research involves RD designs, check out this important new working paper from Ghosh, Imbens, and Wager: "PLRD: Partially Linear Regression Discontinuity Inference" arxiv.org/pdf/2503.09907
March 18, 2025 at 2:37 PM
If your research involves RD designs, check out this important new working paper from Ghosh, Imbens, and Wager: "PLRD: Partially Linear Regression Discontinuity Inference" arxiv.org/pdf/2503.09907
Piet Mondrian’s Broadway Boogie-Woogie
(one of my favorites)
(one of my favorites)
March 16, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Piet Mondrian’s Broadway Boogie-Woogie
(one of my favorites)
(one of my favorites)
Mechanism analyses indicate that these reductions occurred through these legislators' stronger influence over security forces and were concentrated in constituencies with above-average access to info. and communication technology, which enabled relatively selective counterinsurgency ops.
March 3, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Mechanism analyses indicate that these reductions occurred through these legislators' stronger influence over security forces and were concentrated in constituencies with above-average access to info. and communication technology, which enabled relatively selective counterinsurgency ops.
We draw upon granular evidence from the decades-long separatist insurgency in Punjab, India and, employing a close elections RD design, find that nationally-dominant party (Indian National Congress) state legislators indeed reduced rebel violence within their constituencies.
March 3, 2025 at 2:11 PM
We draw upon granular evidence from the decades-long separatist insurgency in Punjab, India and, employing a close elections RD design, find that nationally-dominant party (Indian National Congress) state legislators indeed reduced rebel violence within their constituencies.
I have a new working paper with @aidanmilliff.com and Varun KR which is now available on SocArXiv: osf.io/preprints/so...
March 3, 2025 at 2:11 PM
I have a new working paper with @aidanmilliff.com and Varun KR which is now available on SocArXiv: osf.io/preprints/so...
Some paintings that caught my eye today at the Met.
February 22, 2025 at 11:40 PM
Some paintings that caught my eye today at the Met.
"Ancient Epics in the Television Age: Mass Media, Identity, and the Rise of Hindu Nationalism in India"
Fascinating working paper on mass media and the rise of Hindu nationalism in India. www.nber.org/papers/w33417
Fascinating working paper on mass media and the rise of Hindu nationalism in India. www.nber.org/papers/w33417
February 4, 2025 at 3:55 PM
"Ancient Epics in the Television Age: Mass Media, Identity, and the Rise of Hindu Nationalism in India"
Fascinating working paper on mass media and the rise of Hindu nationalism in India. www.nber.org/papers/w33417
Fascinating working paper on mass media and the rise of Hindu nationalism in India. www.nber.org/papers/w33417
Baral, Nellis, and Weaver study this systematically and find that the Kumbh indeed raises Hindu nationalists’ vote shares, primarily by increasing religious orthodoxy and boosting party infrastructure (paper forthcoming in AJPS). escholarship.org/content/qt1g...
February 3, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Baral, Nellis, and Weaver study this systematically and find that the Kumbh indeed raises Hindu nationalists’ vote shares, primarily by increasing religious orthodoxy and boosting party infrastructure (paper forthcoming in AJPS). escholarship.org/content/qt1g...
The Oculus in lower Manhattan.
January 11, 2025 at 1:12 AM
The Oculus in lower Manhattan.
My research assistant this morning.
January 4, 2025 at 5:13 PM
My research assistant this morning.
I’m quite excited to sink my teeth into this.
January 2, 2025 at 9:06 PM
I’m quite excited to sink my teeth into this.
A few professional highlights of mine this year:
In May, I received my PhD in political science at Yale. My dissertation—which received university & departmental distinction—studies micro-dynamics of armed party violence and draws upon quant data from and in-depth fieldwork in West Bengal, India.
In May, I received my PhD in political science at Yale. My dissertation—which received university & departmental distinction—studies micro-dynamics of armed party violence and draws upon quant data from and in-depth fieldwork in West Bengal, India.
December 31, 2024 at 6:56 PM
A few professional highlights of mine this year:
In May, I received my PhD in political science at Yale. My dissertation—which received university & departmental distinction—studies micro-dynamics of armed party violence and draws upon quant data from and in-depth fieldwork in West Bengal, India.
In May, I received my PhD in political science at Yale. My dissertation—which received university & departmental distinction—studies micro-dynamics of armed party violence and draws upon quant data from and in-depth fieldwork in West Bengal, India.
Yale historian David Engerman with an essay on how the late Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s upbringing and education shaped his subsequent career as an economic policymaker and politician. m.thewire.in/article/econ...
December 28, 2024 at 3:14 PM
Yale historian David Engerman with an essay on how the late Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s upbringing and education shaped his subsequent career as an economic policymaker and politician. m.thewire.in/article/econ...
Obligatory ice fishing outing during a return trip to Minnesota.
December 27, 2024 at 6:48 PM
Obligatory ice fishing outing during a return trip to Minnesota.
My new research assistant has reported for duty.
December 23, 2024 at 1:17 AM
My new research assistant has reported for duty.
Among the novels I read this year for the first time, these captivated me the most (in no particular order):
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (2016)
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (2004)
The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy (1994)
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy (1985)
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (2016)
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (2004)
The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy (1994)
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy (1985)
December 20, 2024 at 11:11 PM
Among the novels I read this year for the first time, these captivated me the most (in no particular order):
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (2016)
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (2004)
The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy (1994)
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy (1985)
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (2016)
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (2004)
The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy (1994)
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy (1985)
Morning after a snow day in rural Minnesota.
December 20, 2024 at 5:00 PM
Morning after a snow day in rural Minnesota.
For those interested in learning more about the politics of policing in NYC: check out this terrific working paper from Elisa Wirsching. She finds that the NYPD substantially reduced effort in areas where council members supported NYPD budget cuts. elisawirsching.github.io/research/pol...
December 10, 2024 at 3:48 PM
For those interested in learning more about the politics of policing in NYC: check out this terrific working paper from Elisa Wirsching. She finds that the NYPD substantially reduced effort in areas where council members supported NYPD budget cuts. elisawirsching.github.io/research/pol...
If you’re looking to gain context for what is happening in Bangladesh, I’d recommend the book “Understanding Bangladesh” by S. Mahmud Ali.
It focuses primarily on elite-level politics, tracing the oscillation of power between the Awami League, BNP, and military since 1971.
It focuses primarily on elite-level politics, tracing the oscillation of power between the Awami League, BNP, and military since 1971.
August 6, 2024 at 11:57 AM
If you’re looking to gain context for what is happening in Bangladesh, I’d recommend the book “Understanding Bangladesh” by S. Mahmud Ali.
It focuses primarily on elite-level politics, tracing the oscillation of power between the Awami League, BNP, and military since 1971.
It focuses primarily on elite-level politics, tracing the oscillation of power between the Awami League, BNP, and military since 1971.
I was fortunate to visit his farm for a cookout, one of the highlights of my academic career. Here’s a photo I took of his Highland cattle Fife and Dundee.
July 22, 2024 at 10:00 PM
I was fortunate to visit his farm for a cookout, one of the highlights of my academic career. Here’s a photo I took of his Highland cattle Fife and Dundee.
I’m delighted to share that my paper coauthored with
Niloufer Siddiqui and Zoha Waseem, “Illicit Gains and State Capture: Political Party Extortion in India and Pakistan”, has been accepted for publication at World Development.
Niloufer Siddiqui and Zoha Waseem, “Illicit Gains and State Capture: Political Party Extortion in India and Pakistan”, has been accepted for publication at World Development.
July 19, 2024 at 12:54 PM
I’m delighted to share that my paper coauthored with
Niloufer Siddiqui and Zoha Waseem, “Illicit Gains and State Capture: Political Party Extortion in India and Pakistan”, has been accepted for publication at World Development.
Niloufer Siddiqui and Zoha Waseem, “Illicit Gains and State Capture: Political Party Extortion in India and Pakistan”, has been accepted for publication at World Development.
Getting work done in this library never gets old.
February 5, 2024 at 1:10 PM
Getting work done in this library never gets old.