Kenneth Scheve is Dean Acheson Professor of Political Science and Global Affairs at Yale University. He is a political economist who studies the domestic and international governance of modern capitalism. His research focuses on inequality and redistribution; the politics of globalization, the social and political consequences of long run economic change; and climate politics. Scheve is the author, with David Stasavage, of Taxing the Rich: A History of Fiscal Fairness in the United States and Europe, which examines the role of fairness concerns in the politics of progressive taxation from the early 19th century through contemporary debates.  He is also the author, with Matthew Slaughter, of Globalization and the Perceptions of American Workers, examining American public opinion about the liberalization of trade, immigration, and foreign direct investment policies.

Scheve received a B.A. with highest honors in Economics from the University of Notre Dame and a PhD from Harvard University. He is a recipient of the David A. Lake Award, Michael Wallerstein Award, the Franklin L. Burdette/Pi Sigma Alpha Award, Robert O. Keohane Award, the American Political Science Association’s International Collaboration Section Distinguished Mentor Award, and the International Studies Association’s Society for Women in International Political Economy Mentor Award, and he is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Scheve came to Yale after most recently an appointment as a Professor of Political Science and Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University.  

Courses Taught

Selected Publications

2023. “Measuring time preferences in large surveys” (with Michael Bechtel, Amalie Jensen, and Jordan McAllister). Political Science Research and Methods.

2023. “The German Trade Shock and the Rise of the Neo-Welfare State in Early Twentieth-Century Britain” (with Theo Serlin). American Political Science Review 117 (2): 557-574. 

2023. “Foundations of a New Democracy: Schooling, Inequality, and Voting in the Early Republic” (with Tine Paulsen and David Stasavage). American Political Science Review 117 (2): 518-536. 

2022. “Improving Public Support for Climate Action Through Multilateralism” (with Michael Bechtel and Elisabeth van Lieshout). Nature Communications 31:6441.

2022. “Equal Treatment and the Inelasticity of Tax Policy to Rising Inequality” (with David Stasavage). Comparative Political Studies 56 (4): 435-464.

2022. “Sustaining Capitalism and Democracy: Lessons from Global Competition Policy” (with Michael O. Allen). International Studies Review 24 (2). 

2021. “The Economic Origins of Authoritarian Values: Evidence from Local Trade Shocks in the United Kingdom” (with Cameron Ballard-Rosa, Mashail Malik, and Stephanie Rickard). Comparative Political Studies.

2021. “Economic Decline, Social Identity, and Authoritarian Values in the United States” (with Cameron Ballard-Rosa and Amalie Jensen). International Studies Quarterly 66 (1). 

2020. “Constant carbon pricing increases support for climate action compared to ramping up costs over time” (with Michael Bechtel and Elisabeth van Lieshout). Nature Climate Change 10: 1004-1009. 

2018. “Inequality and Redistribution Behavior in a Give-or-Take Game” (with Michael Bechtel and Roman Liesch). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Vol. 115 No. 14:3611-3616.

2017. “The Structure of American Income Tax Policy Preferences” (with Cameron Ballard-Rosa and Lucy Martin). Journal of Politics Vol. 79 No. 1 (January):1-16. 

2016. Taxing the Rich: A History of Fiscal Fairness in the United States and Europe (with David Stasavage). Princeton/New York: Princeton University Press/Russell Sage Foundation. 

2013. “Mass support for global climate agreements depends on institutional design” (with Michael Bechtel). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Vol. 110 No. 34: 13763–13768.

2012. “Inequity Aversion and the International Distribution of Trade Protection” (with Xiaobo Lu and Matthew Slaughter). American Journal of Political Science Vol. 56 No. 3 (July):638-655. 

2012. “Democracy, War, and Wealth: Evidence from Two Centuries of Inheritance Taxation” (with David Stasavage). American Political Science Review Vol. 106 No. 1 (February):82-102. 

2006. “Religion and Preferences for Social Insurance” (with David Stasavage). Quarterly Journal of Political Science Vol. 1 No. 3:255-286.

2004. “Economic Insecurity and the Globalization of Production” (with Matthew J. Slaughter). American Journal of Political Science Vol. 48 No. 4 (October):662-674. 

2001. "What Determines Individual Trade-Policy Preferences?" (with Matthew J. Slaughter). Journal of International Economics Vol. 54 No. 2 (August):267-292.

2001. "Analyzing Incomplete Political Science Data: An Alternative Algorithm for Multiple Imputation" (with Gary King, James Honaker, and Anne Joseph). American Political Science Review Vol. 95 No. 1 (March):49-69.

2001. "Labor Market Competition and Individual Preferences Over Immigration Policy" (with Matthew J. Slaughter). The Review of Economics and Statistics Vol. 83 No. 1 (February):133-145.

2001. Globalization and the Perceptions of American Workers (with Matthew J. Slaughter). Washington D.C.: Institute for International Economics.