David Skarbek

I am Professor of Political Science and Political Economy at Brown University.

My research examines how extralegal governance institutions form, operate, and evolve, and in particular, how people define and enforce property rights and engage in trade in the absence of strong, effective governments. My first book, The Social Order of the Underworld, applies this interest to understanding the consequences of America's unique experiment with mass incarceration. In short, I ask, who makes law for the outlaws?

I received a Ph.D. in Economics at George Mason University, after which I taught in the Department of Political Science at Duke University. My academic articles have been published in numerous journals, including the American Political Scie

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