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A.I. Lopez Garcia

I am an Assistant Professor of Global Migration in the Department of Politics, and a member of both the Globalization, Transnationalism and Development (GTD) Research Group  and the Centre for Gender and Diversity (CGD) at FASoS.

My research interests lie at the intersection of development studies and politics, with a special interest in the topic of international migration. 

My work explores how connections with migrants abroad influence the political and social attitudes and behavior of those who remain in origin countries via financial remittances and return migration.

My research covers topics related to bribery and political corruption, taxation and redistribution, crime and violence, and gender inequalities in developing economies. 

My work contributes, as such, to ongoing debates on the role of international migration in promoting democracy, achieving sustainable peace, advancing gender equality, and reducing poverty and inequality in origin countries.

In most of my research, I use quantitative methods of analysis.

My work has appeared in journals such as Comparative Political Studies, Studies in Comparative International Development, Development and Change, Policing and Society, Oxford Development Studies,  Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Migration Studies, Comparative Migration Studies, International Migration, Political Studies,  Latin American Politics & Society, Journal of Politics in Latin America, among others.

My research has been generously supported by the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER),  the International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD),  the Gerda Henkel Foundation,  the Zukunftskolleg at the University of Konstanz, the Research Valorisation Fund at FASoS, and Mexico’s National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT).

My article "Taxing Higher Incomes in Haiti", co-authored with Prof. Dr. Sarah Berens (University of Bremen), received the Best Paper Award at the International Studies Association's 2024 Virtual Conference.

I am currently working on projects in Latin America and the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Western Balkans.

I occasionally consult for development organisations, such as WIEGO (Women in Informal Employment: Organizing and Mobilizing).

Expertises
  • Political economy of international (labour) migration
  • Political economy of crime and violence
  • Political behavior in developing countries
  • Politics of Latin America
  • Survey research 
Career history

I hold an undergraduate degree in International Relations from Mexico's Autonomous Institute of Technology (ITAM), and an MPhil in Latin American Studies at St. Antony's College, Oxford University, and a DPhil in Politics (Comparative Government) at Nuffield College, Oxford University.

Since completing my graduate studies, I have held visiting research positions at the Madrid Institute of Advanced Studies, the German Institute of Global Affairs in Hamburg, and the University of California in San Diego.

Prior to employment at Maastricht University, I worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Konstanz.