I am a Reader (associate professor) at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow and received my PhD from the European University Institute. Before moving to Glasgow, I worked at the University of Pittsburgh, University of Warwick and Duke University. My research explores the process of policy-making in democracies with a focus on economic, labour market, and more recently, energy policies. In my book "Ideologues, Partisans and Loyalists" (Oxford University Press 2016), I argue that politicians' own ideology and political clout matter for policy. In my current project, funded by the Volkswagen Foundation and in collaboration with colleagues at Marburg University, University of Cape Town and FGV, we explore the role of politicians' personal characteristics, interests and wealth on income and wealth inequality. In other current projects I investigate the role of legislative institutions on politicians' expertise, the transformation of social democratic parties from within, the role of the organisation of the executive in energy policy, the impact of electoral competition on energy taxes, the long-term political effects of deindustrialisation and decarbonisation on local communities in the UK and Germany.