Matthew Dilorenzo
Biographic Data
| ID | 1417680 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Matthew Dilorenzo |
| GIVEN NAMES | Matthew |
| FAMILY NAME | Dilorenzo |
| SIGNATURE | DILORENZO M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Old Dominion University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-8384-4537 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 15 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 24 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 15 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2016 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Polarization, Political Turnover, and the Stability of Democratic Foreign Policy
Numerous recent studies find that democratic institutions moderate the impact of domestic political turnover on foreign policy. As such, for many foreign policy outcomes, domestic turnover has little or no impact in democracies. I consider whether this finding holds as political polarization increases. Polarization might lead voters to place less value on compromise with other political actors, freeing leaders to advance policy interests that wou…
How Does the World Bank Influence the Development Policy Priorities of Low-Income and Lower-Middle Income Countries
How does the World Bank’s use of lending and non-lending instruments affect the policy priorities of developing countries? We consider how certain forms of external assistance can shape the incentives of political leaders and the ideational environment within which they work in ways that promote reform. With new data on the delivery of analytical and advisory products and micro-level survey data from 1244 public sector officials in 121 developing…
Leader similarity and international conflict
Scholars increasingly emphasize personal biographical characteristics of leaders in explaining patterns of foreign policy behavior. This article extends insights from this agenda to study how (dis)similarities in the background characteristics of leaders at the dyadic level shape international conflict outcomes. Trust and uncertainty are central to explaining conflict via their connections to commitment- and information-related causes of war. Psy…
International Politics and the Subnational Allocation of World Bank Development Projects
Temporary United Nations Security Council (UNSC) members receive more World Bank projects. I consider the potential for UNSC status to influence aid allocation within recipient countries. While strategically important recipients might gain greater discretion over the internal distribution of aid, no clear evidence establishes whether World Bank aid tends to succumb to political pressures within countries. I examine whether political favoritism wi…
The economic efficiency of aid targeting
How efficient is the targeting of foreign aid to populations in need? A long literature has focused on the impacts of foreign aid, but much rarer are studies that examine how such aid is allocated within countries. We examine the extent to which donors efficiently respond to exogenous budget shocks by shifting resources toward needier districts within a given country, as predicted by theory. We use recently geocoded data on the World Bank’s aid i…
Political turnover, regime type, and investment behavior
Firms and individuals condition their investment choices on domestic political factors in host countries. Existing research describes how government preferences and policy choices influence investment behavior. Some have argued that investors take a cautious approach in response to possible government turnover. We argue that the results of domestic political competition also matter. Domestic turnover creates uncertainty about the future direction…
Aid Management, Trust, and Development Policy Influence
Trade Layoffs and Hate in the United States
Objective Recent events (e.g., Brexit) have highlighted how globalization may foster hostility toward out‐groups in developed democracies. Is trade competition systematically related to hate in the United States? Methods I conduct a county‐level statistical analysis using data from the Trade Adjustment Assistance program, the FBI's Hate Crime Statistics database, and the Southern Poverty Law Center's hate group map over the period of 2003–2017. R…
Term Limits and Environmental Treaty Commitments
How does political accountability in democracies affect leaders’ incentives for international cooperation? We consider how term limits should affect international environmental agreement (IEA) participation. Pursuing environmental protection as a public good coincides with the political survival incentives of democratic leaders. Term limits decouple leaders’ policy priorities from their political survival incentives, discouraging IEA participatio…
International Constraints, Political Turnover, and Voting Consistency in the United Nations General Assembly
Recent studies demonstrate that turnover in domestic political leadership is associated with change in states’ foreign policies. While domestic changes matter even after controlling for international factors, many argue that international factors should overwhelm the effects of domestic turnover on foreign policy change. Yet existing studies tend to focus on other domestic-level variables (e.g., regime type) as constraints on domestic turnover. W…
Political Turnover and Chinese Development Cooperation
Some view recent, high-profile Chinese aid and investment agreements that have followed changes in the leadership of recipient states as evidence of China’s intent to compete for political influence in countries that are traditionally close to the United States and its allies. We examine how patterns of China’s development investment vary with changes of domestic leadership in potential recipient states, and argue that domestic coalition turnover…
Leader Survival, Sources of Political Insecurity, and International Conflict
Recent research identifies the risk and consequences of losing office as important factors in leaders’ decisions to initiate international conflicts. This paper argues that the institutional source of a domestic threat to a leader should condition the relationship between political insecurity and international conflict. Specifically, existing theoretical mechanisms linking international conflict to security in office should not apply to threats t…
Bypass Aid and Unrest in Autocracies
Scholars and policymakers argue that donors can pursue development goals without bolstering autocratic regimes by bypassing recipient governments and channeling aid through intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations. However, I argue that bypass aid can subsidize government transfers to citizens and thus reduce popular resistance to autocrats. By providing goods and services that benefit individuals under the status quo, bypass aid may a…
Domestic uncertainty, third-party resolve, and international conflict
Uncertainty about resolve is a well-established rationalist explanation for war. In addition to estimating the resolve of immediate rivals, leaders choose their actions in a crisis based on expectations about how third parties will respond. We argue that leaders will become more likely to develop inconsistent estimates of rivals' relative capabilities and resolve - and thus will become more likely to fight - when domestic political changes occur …
Presidential political ambition and US foreign conflict behavior, 1816–2010
How do term limits affect international conflict behavior? We revisit this question using new quarter-year-level data on presidential political ambition in the US from 1816 to 2010. Multi-country research finds that the re-election motive decreases the likelihood of conflict initiation. We argue that there are good reasons to expect that the US is different. We find that politically ambitious US presidents are more likely to initiate internationa…
Bypass Aid and Unrest in Autocracies
Scholars and policymakers argue that donors can pursue development goals without bolstering autocratic regimes by bypassing recipient governments and channeling aid through intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations. However, I argue that bypass aid can subsidize government transfers to citizens and thus reduce popular resistance to autocrats. By providing goods and services that benefit individuals under the status quo, bypass aid may a…
International Politics and the Subnational Allocation of World Bank Development Projects
Temporary United Nations Security Council (UNSC) members receive more World Bank projects. I consider the potential for UNSC status to influence aid allocation within recipient countries. While strategically important recipients might gain greater discretion over the internal distribution of aid, no clear evidence establishes whether World Bank aid tends to succumb to political pressures within countries. I examine whether political favoritism wi…
Leader similarity and international conflict
Scholars increasingly emphasize personal biographical characteristics of leaders in explaining patterns of foreign policy behavior. This article extends insights from this agenda to study how (dis)similarities in the background characteristics of leaders at the dyadic level shape international conflict outcomes. Trust and uncertainty are central to explaining conflict via their connections to commitment- and information-related causes of war. Psy…
Political turnover, regime type, and investment behavior
Firms and individuals condition their investment choices on domestic political factors in host countries. Existing research describes how government preferences and policy choices influence investment behavior. Some have argued that investors take a cautious approach in response to possible government turnover. We argue that the results of domestic political competition also matter. Domestic turnover creates uncertainty about the future direction…
Aid Management, Trust, and Development Policy Influence
Domestic uncertainty, third-party resolve, and international conflict
Uncertainty about resolve is a well-established rationalist explanation for war. In addition to estimating the resolve of immediate rivals, leaders choose their actions in a crisis based on expectations about how third parties will respond. We argue that leaders will become more likely to develop inconsistent estimates of rivals' relative capabilities and resolve - and thus will become more likely to fight - when domestic political changes occur …
The economic efficiency of aid targeting
How efficient is the targeting of foreign aid to populations in need? A long literature has focused on the impacts of foreign aid, but much rarer are studies that examine how such aid is allocated within countries. We examine the extent to which donors efficiently respond to exogenous budget shocks by shifting resources toward needier districts within a given country, as predicted by theory. We use recently geocoded data on the World Bank’s aid i…
Trade Layoffs and Hate in the United States
Objective Recent events (e.g., Brexit) have highlighted how globalization may foster hostility toward out‐groups in developed democracies. Is trade competition systematically related to hate in the United States? Methods I conduct a county‐level statistical analysis using data from the Trade Adjustment Assistance program, the FBI's Hate Crime Statistics database, and the Southern Poverty Law Center's hate group map over the period of 2003–2017. R…
Term Limits and Environmental Treaty Commitments
How does political accountability in democracies affect leaders’ incentives for international cooperation? We consider how term limits should affect international environmental agreement (IEA) participation. Pursuing environmental protection as a public good coincides with the political survival incentives of democratic leaders. Term limits decouple leaders’ policy priorities from their political survival incentives, discouraging IEA participatio…
International Constraints, Political Turnover, and Voting Consistency in the United Nations General Assembly
Recent studies demonstrate that turnover in domestic political leadership is associated with change in states’ foreign policies. While domestic changes matter even after controlling for international factors, many argue that international factors should overwhelm the effects of domestic turnover on foreign policy change. Yet existing studies tend to focus on other domestic-level variables (e.g., regime type) as constraints on domestic turnover. W…
Presidential political ambition and US foreign conflict behavior, 1816–2010
How do term limits affect international conflict behavior? We revisit this question using new quarter-year-level data on presidential political ambition in the US from 1816 to 2010. Multi-country research finds that the re-election motive decreases the likelihood of conflict initiation. We argue that there are good reasons to expect that the US is different. We find that politically ambitious US presidents are more likely to initiate internationa…
Political Turnover and Chinese Development Cooperation
Some view recent, high-profile Chinese aid and investment agreements that have followed changes in the leadership of recipient states as evidence of China’s intent to compete for political influence in countries that are traditionally close to the United States and its allies. We examine how patterns of China’s development investment vary with changes of domestic leadership in potential recipient states, and argue that domestic coalition turnover…
Leader Survival, Sources of Political Insecurity, and International Conflict
Recent research identifies the risk and consequences of losing office as important factors in leaders’ decisions to initiate international conflicts. This paper argues that the institutional source of a domestic threat to a leader should condition the relationship between political insecurity and international conflict. Specifically, existing theoretical mechanisms linking international conflict to security in office should not apply to threats t…
Bypass Aid and Unrest in Autocracies
Scholars and policymakers argue that donors can pursue development goals without bolstering autocratic regimes by bypassing recipient governments and channeling aid through intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations. However, I argue that bypass aid can subsidize government transfers to citizens and thus reduce popular resistance to autocrats. By providing goods and services that benefit individuals under the status quo, bypass aid may a…
Domestic uncertainty, third-party resolve, and international conflict
Uncertainty about resolve is a well-established rationalist explanation for war. In addition to estimating the resolve of immediate rivals, leaders choose their actions in a crisis based on expectations about how third parties will respond. We argue that leaders will become more likely to develop inconsistent estimates of rivals' relative capabilities and resolve - and thus will become more likely to fight - when domestic political changes occur …
International Constraints, Political Turnover, and Voting Consistency in the United Nations General Assembly
Recent studies demonstrate that turnover in domestic political leadership is associated with change in states’ foreign policies. While domestic changes matter even after controlling for international factors, many argue that international factors should overwhelm the effects of domestic turnover on foreign policy change. Yet existing studies tend to focus on other domestic-level variables (e.g., regime type) as constraints on domestic turnover. W…
Political turnover, regime type, and investment behavior
Firms and individuals condition their investment choices on domestic political factors in host countries. Existing research describes how government preferences and policy choices influence investment behavior. Some have argued that investors take a cautious approach in response to possible government turnover. We argue that the results of domestic political competition also matter. Domestic turnover creates uncertainty about the future direction…
Aid Management, Trust, and Development Policy Influence
Trade Layoffs and Hate in the United States
Objective Recent events (e.g., Brexit) have highlighted how globalization may foster hostility toward out‐groups in developed democracies. Is trade competition systematically related to hate in the United States? Methods I conduct a county‐level statistical analysis using data from the Trade Adjustment Assistance program, the FBI's Hate Crime Statistics database, and the Southern Poverty Law Center's hate group map over the period of 2003–2017. R…
Term Limits and Environmental Treaty Commitments
How does political accountability in democracies affect leaders’ incentives for international cooperation? We consider how term limits should affect international environmental agreement (IEA) participation. Pursuing environmental protection as a public good coincides with the political survival incentives of democratic leaders. Term limits decouple leaders’ policy priorities from their political survival incentives, discouraging IEA participatio…
The economic efficiency of aid targeting
How efficient is the targeting of foreign aid to populations in need? A long literature has focused on the impacts of foreign aid, but much rarer are studies that examine how such aid is allocated within countries. We examine the extent to which donors efficiently respond to exogenous budget shocks by shifting resources toward needier districts within a given country, as predicted by theory. We use recently geocoded data on the World Bank’s aid i…
Leader similarity and international conflict
Scholars increasingly emphasize personal biographical characteristics of leaders in explaining patterns of foreign policy behavior. This article extends insights from this agenda to study how (dis)similarities in the background characteristics of leaders at the dyadic level shape international conflict outcomes. Trust and uncertainty are central to explaining conflict via their connections to commitment- and information-related causes of war. Psy…
International Politics and the Subnational Allocation of World Bank Development Projects
Temporary United Nations Security Council (UNSC) members receive more World Bank projects. I consider the potential for UNSC status to influence aid allocation within recipient countries. While strategically important recipients might gain greater discretion over the internal distribution of aid, no clear evidence establishes whether World Bank aid tends to succumb to political pressures within countries. I examine whether political favoritism wi…
How Does the World Bank Influence the Development Policy Priorities of Low-Income and Lower-Middle Income Countries
How does the World Bank’s use of lending and non-lending instruments affect the policy priorities of developing countries? We consider how certain forms of external assistance can shape the incentives of political leaders and the ideational environment within which they work in ways that promote reform. With new data on the delivery of analytical and advisory products and micro-level survey data from 1244 public sector officials in 121 developing…
Polarization, Political Turnover, and the Stability of Democratic Foreign Policy
Numerous recent studies find that democratic institutions moderate the impact of domestic political turnover on foreign policy. As such, for many foreign policy outcomes, domestic turnover has little or no impact in democracies. I consider whether this finding holds as political polarization increases. Polarization might lead voters to place less value on compromise with other political actors, freeing leaders to advance policy interests that wou…
Economics (12 works) · Political science (11 works) · Politics (10 works) · International Development and Aid (9 works) · Law (8 works) · Law (7 works) · Political Conflict and Governance (7 works) · Political economy (7 works) · International Relations and Foreign Policy (6 works) · Democracy (5 works)