Elisabeth R. Gerber

Elisabeth R. Gerber is the Jack L. Walker, Jr. Professor of Public Policy at the Ford School, with a courtesy appointment in the U-M Department of Political Science. Her current research focuses on regionalism and intergovernmental cooperation, sustainable development, urban climate adaptation, transportation policy, community and economic development, local fiscal capacity, and local political accountability. She is the author of The Populist Paradox: Interest Group Influence and the Promise of Direct Legislation (1999), co-author of Stealing the Initiative: How State Government Responds to Direct Democracy (2000), and co-editor of Voting at the Political Fault Line: California’s Experiment with the Blanket Primary (2001) and Michigan at the Millennium (2003). She recently completed a five-year term as vice-chair of the Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan. She received her PhD in political science from the University of Michigan.

Educational background

Ph.D., Political Science, University of Michigan, 1991
M.A., Political Science, University of Michigan, 1989
B.A., Political Science and Economics, University of Michigan, 1986, With High Honors ad High Distinction

Professional affiliations

American Political Science Association: member, Midwest Political Science Association: member, vice-president 2010-2012; American Journal of Political Science: associate editor 2010-2012; American Political Science Review: editorial board member; Journal of Theoretical Politics: editorial board member; California Journal of Politics and Policy: editorial board member; Political Analysis: editorial board member; American Politics Research: editorial board member; Initiative and Referendum Institute: board of scholars member; Center for Local, State and Urban Policy: affiliated researcher

Recent publications

"When Mayors Matter: Estimating the Impact of Mayoral Partisanship on City Policy," with Daniel Hopkins. American Journal of Political Science. 55:2, 326-339. "Prospects for Expanding Regional Planning Efforts," with Carolyn Loh. 2011. Urban Studies. "Balancing Regionalism and Localism: How Institutions and Incentives Shape American Transportation Policy," with Clark C. Gibson. 2009. American Journal of Political Science 53:3, 633-48. "Explaining Horizontal and Vertical Cooperation in Michigan," with Jered B. Carr and Eric Lupher. 2009. In Sustaining Michigan. Richard W. Jelier and Gary Sands, editors. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press. 207-36.