Nina McMurry

Faculty Affiliate

Nina is a Research Affiliate at MIT GOV/LAB and a postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Institutions and Political Inequality Unit at the WZB Berlin Social Science Center. She received her PhD from the MIT Political Science Department in September 2020. Her research looks at issues of accountability, representation, and state-building, focusing on the relationship between non-state actors and formal state institutions. Her book project examines the implications of recognizing collective self-governance rights for indigenous communities on state consolidation and political participation. Her work with MIT GOV/LAB has involved testing approaches to increasing civic participation and local government responsiveness in the context of a large-scale anti-poverty program in the Philippines. Nina has also conducted field research in South Sudan, South Africa, Guatemala, and the United States. In addition to MIT GOV/LAB, her research has been supported by the Global Partnership for Social Accountability (GPSA), Making All Voices Count (MAVC) and the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) Governance Initiative.