Dongil Lee

Welcome! I am an Assistant Professor at the KDI School of Public Policy and Management (KDI School). In 2022, I received my Ph.D. in Political Science from New York University (NYU).

My research focuses on the political economy of development, with an emphasis on institutional reforms and their effects on political representation, democratic accountability, and development in sub-Saharan Africa.

Since 2022, I have co-organized the KDI School--World Bank DIME Development Impact conference (2022, 2023, 2024). During 2016-22, I served as a graduate student focal point at NYU for the CAPERS.

I can be reached by email: dlee@kdis.ac.kr

My C.V. is available here.

Research

Peer-reviewed Publications

Lee, Dongil. 2025. "Targeting Coethnic Elites or Voters? Evidence from Aid Allocation in Malawi." Forthcoming at World Development.

Manuscripts Under Review

Lee, Dongil. 2024. "Does Foreign Aid Undermine Political Responsiveness? Evidence from Kenya." Revise & Resubmit at Studies in Comparative International Development.
Lee, Dongil. 2024. "Dynamic Impact of Legislative Gender Quotas on Female Representation in Cabinets." Revise & Resubmit at Journal of Politics.
Rhee, Inbok & Dongil Lee. 2024. "Political Change in African Cities: Transforming State-Society Relations." Under Review.
Lee, Dongil, David Sungho Park & Inbok Rhee. 2024. "Global Climate Action and Local Rights: Survey Experimental Evidence on Public Support for Carbon Offsetting in Liberia." Under Review.

Working Papers

Beiser-McGrath, Janina & Dongil Lee. 2024. "Economic Crises and Political Selection: Evidence from Ministerial Appointments in Africa."
Cha'ngom, Narcisse, Dongil Lee, Eric Mvukiyehe & Christelle Tchoupé. 2024. "Electronic Payroll System and Intra-Civil Service Corruption: Evidence from the Democratic Republic of Congo."

Works in Progress

Bandiera, Antonella, Dongil Lee, Francis William Touola Meda & Cyrus Samii. "Empowering the People: How to Promote Political Representation for the Poor?"
Lee, Dongil, Eric Mvukiyehe, Christelle Tchoupé, Guo Xu & Hongshen Zhu. "Bureaucrat Selection under Weak State Capacity: Evidence from the Democratic Republic of Congo."
Lee, Changkeun, Dongil Lee & Hye Young You. "Dictator's Economic Craft: How an Authoritarian Leader Taps Talents from Bureaucrats."
Conn, Katharine M., Dongil Lee, Cecilia Hyungjung Mo, & Averell Schmidt. "The Impact of Youth Service on Beliefs, Mindsets, and Life Pathways: Evidence from the Peace Corps."
Goto, Jun & Dongil Lee. "Pro-female Judicial Decisions and Evolution of Gender Norms: Evidence from India."

Teaching

PhD courses

Foundations of Public Policy (F22, S23, S24, S25)
Mathematics for Economics I (S24, S25)

Master's courses

Political Economy of Development (S23, Su23, S24, S25, Su25)
Data-Driven Foreign Aid (Su23, Su24, Su25)

Advising

For students: please click HERE to set up an appointment during my office hours.

Useful advice · resources for students

Useful lectures · workshops for students

Useful blogs · podcasts for students

Good Authority (Political Science)
Scope Conditions Podcast (Comparative Politics)
An Africanist Perspective by Ken Opalo (African Politics)
This Week in Africa by Jeffrey Paller (African Politics)
VoxDev (Development Economics)
Global Developments by Oliver Kim (Development Economics)
Broadstreet (Historical Political Economy)
Marginal Revolution (Economics)
World Bank Blog by David McKenzie (Development Economics)
Statistical Modeling, Causal Inference, and Social Science by Andrew Gelman (Statistics and Social Sciences)