Noam Lupu
Associate Professor of Political Science and Associate Director of LAPOP Lab, Vanderbilt University
Chapter Leader: Tennessee SSN
Areas of Expertise:
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About Noam
Lupu's research focuses on political behavior, partisanship and political parties, class and inequality, representation, legacies of violence, and survey methods. His research has appeared in leading academic journals and he has won numerous prestigious grants and awards. He has served as an expert witness for asylum cases and done consulting work for the Inter-American Development Bank, USAID, and the World Bank.
Contributions
How Government by the Privileged Distorts Democracies
Key Findings Brief,
In the News
Noam Lupu's research on , "Roseanne Barr Reinforces Myth that Working-Class Voters Elected Trump," Washington Post, January 12, 2018.
"It’s Time to Bust the Myth: Most Trump Voters Were Not Working Class.," Noam Lupu (with ), The Washington Post, June 5, 2017.
"No Matter What Happens in Sunday’s Election, Argentina Will be Governed by the Rich. Here’s Why That Matters.," Noam Lupu, The Washington Post, November 20, 2015.
"Scott Walker Didn’t Finish College. Would That Make Him a Bad President?," Noam Lupu (with ), Politico, July 8, 2015.
"The Rich are Running Latin America - and Why That Matters," Noam Lupu (with ), The Washington Post, April 8, 2014.
Noam Lupu's research on Hugo Chávez’s political strategy discussed by , "Will Venezuela's Vote Affect Foreign Policy?," Al Jazeera English, October 5, 2012.
Publications
"Party Polarization and Mass Partisanship: A Comparative Perspective" Political Behavior 37, no. 2 (2015): 331-356.
Examines theories of partisanship to derive implications about the relationships among polarization, citizens’ perceptions of polarization, and mass partisanship.
"Rethinking the Comparative Perspective on Class and Representation: Evidence from Latin America," (with ), Juan March Institute, March 31, 2013.
Demonstrates that lawmakers from different class backgrounds bring different economic attitudes to the legislative process – and that pre-voting decisions like sponsoring legislation often differ dramatically along social class lines.
"Party Brands and Partisanship: Theory with Evidence from a Survey Experiment in Argentina" American Journal of Political Science 57, no. 1 (2013): 49-64.
Develops a branding model of partisanship in which voters learn about party brands by observing party behavior over time and base their psychological attachment to a part on these brands. Findings suggest that convergence by rival parties, making their brands less distinguishable, does indeed weaken party attachments.
"The Structure of Inequality and the Politics of Redistribution" (with ). American Political Science Review 105, no. 2 (2011): 316-336.
Argues that inequality matters for redistributive politics in advanced capitalist societies, but it is the structure of inequality, not the level of inequality, that matters; theorizes that middle-income voters will be inclined to ally with low-income voters and support redistributive policies when the distance between the middle and the poor is small relative to the distance between the middle and the rich.
"Who Votes for Chavismo? Class Voting in Hugo Chávez’s Venezuela" Latin American Research Review 45, no. 1 (2010): 7-32.
Clarifies the concept of class-based voting patterns in Venezuela by distinguishing between monotonic and nonmonotonic associations between class and vote choice; finds that voting for Chávez, in the most recent elections at least, does not perfectly adhere to a voter’s class identity.