Michael A. Gavin
Economist, Department of Finance
Government of Canada
Visiting Researcher, Graduate School of Public and
International Affairs, The University of Ottawa
In 2024, I will join the School of Political Science & International Studies at the University of Queensland as a Lecturer (Assistant Professor). Until then, I am a Visiting Researcher at the University of Ottawa's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs and an Economist/Analyst at the Department of Finance, Government of Canada.
I research the politics of IMF lending and central banking in emerging and developing economies. Why are national central banks pillars financial stability while the IMF remains a chastened institution? Why are populist leaders more likely to pressure their independent central bank? And do their pressure tactics succeed (hint: yes)? Why were the first central banks founded and does it have anything to do with war? These are some of the questions I address in my research.
My research has appeared or is forthcoming in Comparative Political Studies, International Studies Quarterly, The Review of International Organizations, and Environmental and Resource Economics.
My research uses formal modelling, original datasets, quantitative methods, qualitative field work, and case study analysis.