Thomas Choate Email & Phone Number

I am a scholar-teacher with a background in economics and politics. My research explores policy conflict and its effects in diverse areas of American politics, including Congress, the bureaucracy, and interstate federalism, using game theory and other formal methods. I have written on the causes and consequences of textual ambiguity in legislation, the development of state capacity and constitutional constraints in federal systems, and the effects of increasing partisanship on distributive politics and legislative institutions. My work often models political actors with behavioral motivations (e.g., in-group altruism, concern over reputation for moral behavior) or cognitive limitations (e.g., costly attention to the contents of legislation) that can allow a more complete understanding of phenomena than supposing such actors are fully sophisticated and narrowly self-interested.