Prof. Paul Dragos Aligica
Romania
Prof. Paul Dragos Aligica’s work is spanning institutional theory, political economy and political philosophy. His research primarily focuses on governance systems, where he explores polycentric governance structures, institutional analysis and design, and the resilience of economic, institutional, and societal systems. He has given special attention to the complex trade-offs between resilience and other institutional performance criteria such as efficiency and equity. In the realm of social and political philosophy, his work addresses political and administrative doctrines, the concept of modus vivendi systems, and normative analysis. Additionally, Aligica's contributions to public choice political economy include comparative studies of economic systems, as well as investigations into incentives and knowledge processes in public choice and the organizational structures in nonmarket settings.
Professional experience
Prof. Paul Dragos Aligica’s is the holder of the KPMG Chair of Governance Studies at the University of Bucharest, and a Senior Research Fellow in the F. A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center, George Mason University. He is a corresponding member of the Romanian Academy and a member of the Academy of Europe (Academia Europaea), where he is affiliated with the “Governence, Institutions, and Policy” section. Currently a Senior Nonresident Scholar with the Center for Governance and Markets at the University of Pittsburgh, Aligica is also a member of the Permanent Scientific Quality Committee of the World Interdisciplinary Network for Institutional Research. He is the author of numerous books and academic articles on institutional theory, political economy, social theory, and political philosophy. In addition to his academic work, Aligica has considerable experience in advisory, expert, and consultancy positions, including work with the United Nations Development Program, Booz Allen Hamilton, the World Bank, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Institute for International Education of the United States State Department, and various European institutions and organizations.
Education
Prof. Paul Dragos Aligica holds a PhD in Political Science from Indiana University Bloomington (2004) and a habilitation in Administrative Sciences from Babes-Bolyai University (2021). He also earned doctoral degrees in Economics from ASE Bucharest (1998) and in Sociology from the University of Bucharest (2000).
Romania
- Place of affiliation
Governance Theory
- Polycentric governance
- Institutional analysis and design
- Resilience (economic, institutional, societal) and its trade-offs with other Institutional performance criteria
Social and Political Philosophy
- Normative analysis
- Modus vivendi systems
- Political and administrative doctrines
Public Choice Political Economy
- Incentives and knowledge processes in public choice
- Comparative economic systems
- Collective choice and organization structures in nonmarket settings
- “Comparative Economic Systems and the Problem of Resilience”, with V. Iordache, Routledge Handbook of Comparative Economic Studies, editors, Bruno Dallago and Sara Casagrande, Routledge 2023.
- "Conceptualising democratic resilience: a minimalist account" (with A. Volacu), Contemporary Politics (2023): 1-19.
- Institutional Diversity and Political Economy.Oxford University Press: Oxford, 2014.
- “Julian Simon and the Problem of Socio-Ecological Resilience: Reconstruction and Reinterpretation”, (with R. G. Ciobanu), Review of Austrian Economics, January 2022.
- “Institutional Design, Social Norms, and the Feasibility Issue”, Social Philosophy & Policy, Editors Jerry Gaus and Shaun Nichols, Cambridge University Press (vol.10) 2018.
- “Institutional Resilience and Economic Systems: Lessons from Elinor Ostrom’s work”, (with V. Tarko), Comparative Economic Studies, 56, pp. 52-76 (March 2014).
- Rules, Choices and Collective Action. Vincent and Elinor Ostrom on the Study of Institutions and Governance, (edited by Aligica, P. and Sabetti, P.) The European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) Press, 2014.
- Comparative Economic Systems (edited by Aligica, P. and Boettke, P.), Edward Elgar International Library of Critical Writings in Economics Series, Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, 2018.
- Capitalist Alternatives: Models, Taxonomies, Scenarios; with V. Tarko, Routledge: London and New-York, 2014.
- “Co-Production, Polycentricity and Value Heterogeneity: The Ostroms' Public Choice Institutionalism Revisited”, with V. Tarko, American Political Science Review, Volume 107, Issue 4, pp. 726-741, 2013.
- "Government Intervention Induced Structural Crises: Exploratory Notes on the Patterns of Evolution and Response” in Bottom-up Responses to Crisis, Stefanie Haeffele and Virgil Henry Storr (Eds), Palgrave Macmillan, London New York, 2020.
- “The European Migrant Crisis: A Case Study in Failure of Governmental and Supra-governmental Responses” (with T. Savidge). In Government Responses to Crisis, Stefanie Haeffele and Virgil Henry Storr (Eds), Mercatus Studies in Political and Social Economy, Palgrave Macmillan, London New York, 2020.
- “Governing the Commons: Lessons and Implications for Institutional Design” (with Michael E. Cox) in The Oxford Handbook of Public Choice, editors Roger Congleton, Bernie Grofman and Stefan Voigt, Oxford University Press, 2019.
- “Governance” in The Encyclopedia of Law and Economics edited by Alain Marciano and Giovanni Battista Ramello, Springer , New York, NY 2018.
- “Rethinking governance systems and challenging disciplinary boundaries. A dialogue with Elinor Ostrom”. In Elinor Ostrom and the Bloomington School of Political Economy: Polycentricity in Public Administration and Political Science (Volume 1,) December 2014.
- “Citizenship, political competence and civic studies: the Ostromian Perspective” in Civic Studies, edited by Peter Levine and Karol Soltan, Association of American Colleges and Universities, 2014.
- “Institutional Analysis and Political Economy” (with Mike McGinnis) in The Routledge Handbook of Public Policy, editors Eduardo Araral, et al., Routledge, 2013.
- Public Entrepreneurship, Citizenship, and Self-Governance, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge 2018.
