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Jan Stuck­a­tz

Tenure Track Assistant Professor

Subjects
Trade Politics Quantitative methods History North America Europe

Primary research areas

Cor­por­ate Polit­ic­al Activ­ity
Firms use strategies such as lob­by­ing and cam­paign con­tri­bu­tions to in­flu­ence polit­ic­al de­cision-mak­ing. My re­search ex­am­ines the mo­tiv­a­tions be­hind cor­por­ate polit­ic­al activ­ity and its con­sequences for firms and the broad­er polit­ic­al en­vir­on­ment.
Polit­ics in the Work­place
Cor­por­a­tions in­creas­ingly com­mu­nic­ate polit­ic­al po­s­i­tions to em­ploy­ees and ex­tern­al audi­ences. I study why firms take polit­ic­al stances and how work­place polit­ics shape em­ploy­ee be­ha­vi­or and or­gan­iz­a­tion­al per­form­ance.
Re­volving Door between Polit­ics and Busi­ness
The re­volving door—the move­ment of gov­ern­ment of­fi­cials into private-sec­tor roles, and vice versa—is wide­spread. I in­vest­ig­ate firms’ in­cent­ives to hire former of­fi­cials, the or­gan­iz­a­tion­al and polit­ic­al con­sequences of these hires, and the mo­tiv­a­tions of in­di­vidu­als who move between the pub­lic and private sec­tors.
His­tor­ic­al Polit­ic­al Eco­nomy of Na­tion­al So­cial­ism
I study why in­di­vidu­als joined and sup­por­ted Nazi or­gan­iz­a­tions, as well as the polit­ic­al and eco­nom­ic ef­fects of de­nazi­fic­a­tion in post–World War II Ger­many. To ad­dress these ques­tions, I draw on large-scale data from mil­lions of de­nazi­fic­a­tion ques­tion­naires col­lec­ted after the war.
Polit­ics of In­ter­na­tion­al Trade
I study why firms en­gage in cor­por­ate polit­ic­al activ­ity around in­ter­na­tion­al trade and what ef­fects this has. I also ex­am­ine how trade policies are im­ple­men­ted, and how firms use free trade agree­ments and oth­er policy in­stru­ments.

Un­der­stand­ing the role of firms in polit­ics

I am a political economist studying the interactions between firms and politics. I am particularly interested in lobbying, campaign finance, corporate political connections, and the role of politics in the workplace. Moreover, I research the historical political economy with an emphasis on National Socialism

I specialize in quantitative analyses of big datasets. I use methods of causal inference for observational and experimental data, machine learning, and natural language processing tools.

I am also an Affiliate Fellow at the Stigler Center, University of Chicago, Booth School of Business.  I have held postdoctoral and visiting positions at Princeton University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Humboldt University Berlin, and the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST). 

Recent research projects

The Cor­por­ate Re­volving Door

The Cor­por­ate Re­volving Door pro­ject, fun­ded by the In­de­pend­ent Re­search Fund Den­mark, of­fers the first large scale, cross-coun­try study of the move­ment of pub­lic of­fi­cials into cor­por­ate po­s­i­tions across the United States and West­ern Europe. Jan Stuck­a­tz is co-PI.

Who be­came a Nazi?

We study who joined the Nazi move­ment, why, and with what ef­fects. To an­swer these ques­tions, we use nov­el data from his­tor­ic­al de­nazi­fic­a­tion ques­tion­naires dis­trib­uted in post-World War 2 Ger­many.
DeNazDB Project Website

Who was De­nazi­fied? Com­par­at­ive De­nazi­fic­a­tion in Post-World War 2 Ger­many

We use mil­lions of de­nazi­fic­a­tion ques­tion­naires to ex­am­ine trans­ition­al justice in post-World War 2 Ger­many. We re­search the long-run ef­fects of de­nazi­fic­a­tion on in­di­vidu­als, polit­ics, and the eco­nomy.
Independent Research Fund Denmark: "Who was Denazified?” Project

Outside activities

I have no outside employments or activities