# James Alt ![James Alt](/sites/g/files/omnuum8626/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/jimalt/files/alt-edited.jpg?itok=C3QJDXNk) [Curriculum Vitae](/file_url/114) James E. Alt is the Frank G. Thomson Professor of Government. His current interests are in comparative political economy; the interaction of voters, political parties, budget and other political institutions, financial markets, and fiscal policies in industrial democracies. His recent research analyzes institutional transparency, accountability and corruption, and fiscal policy outcomes in OECD countries and US states. He is author, co-author, or editor of *The Politics of Economic Decline* (Cambridge University Press, 1979, reissued 2009), *Political Economics* (University of California Press, 1983), *Cabinet Studies* (Macmillan, 1975), *Advances in Quantitative Methods* (Elsevier, 1980), *Perspectives on Positive Political Economy* (Cambridge University Press, 1990), *Competition and Cooperation* (Russell Sage, 1999) and *Positive Changes in Political Science* (Michigan, 2007). He has published numerous articles in scholarly journals, including "Partisan Dealignment in Britain 1964-1974" in the *British Journal of Political Science*, "Political Parties, World Demand, and Unemployment" in the *American Political Science Review*, "Divided Government, Fiscal Institutions, and Deficits: Evidence from the States," in the *American Political Science Review*, "Fiscal Policy Outcomes and Electoral Accountability in American States," in the *American Political Science Review*, and “Disentangling Accountability and Competence in Elections: Evidence from U.S. Term Limits,” in the *Journal of Politics*. He is the founding director of the Center for Basic Research in the Social Sciences, now the Institute for Quantitative Social Science. He is or has been a member of the editorial boards of the *American Political Science Review*, *American Journal of Political Science*, *British Journal of Political Science*, *Journal of Politics, Political Studies*, and other journals, and has been a member of the Political Science Panel of the National Science Foundation. He was a Guggenheim Fellow 1997-98 and a Senior Research Fellow of Nuffield College, Oxford from 2007-2011. Alt is an International Fellow of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, London, and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2004. ## Recent Publications Download 6 citations download- [BibTeX](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=6&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters=&&&format=bibtex) - [EndNote X3 XML](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=6&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters=&&&format=endnote8) - [EndNote 7 XML](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=6&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters=&&&format=endnote7) - [Endnote tagged](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=6&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters=&&&format=tagged) - [Marc](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=6&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters=&&&format=marc) - [PubMedId](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=6&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters=&&&format=pubmed_id) - [RIS](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=6&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters=&&&format=ris) ### 2022 Alt J, Jensen A, Larreguy H, Lassen DD, Marshall J. [Diffusing Political Concerns: How Unemployment Information Passed between Social Ties Influences Danish Voters](/publication/diffusing-political-concerns-how-unemployment-information-passed-between-social-ties). Journal of Politics. 2022;84(1):20. Alt J, Jensen A, Larreguy H, Lassen DD, Marshall J. [Diffusing Political Concerns: How Unemployment Information Passed between Social Ties Influences Danish Voters](/publication/diffusing-political-concerns-how-unemployment-information-passed-between-social-ties). Journal of Politics. 2022;84(1):20. - [ picture\_as\_pdfAlt et al Diffusing Polit...](/sites/g/files/omnuum8626/files/2026-02/Diffusing%20Political%20Concerns%202022.pdf) - [ picture\_as\_pdfAlt et al Diffusing Polit...](/sites/g/files/omnuum8626/files/2026-02/Diffusing%20Political%20Concerns%202022.pdf) ### 2019 Alt J. [Twenty years of transparency research](/publication/twenty-years-transparency-research). In: Public Sector Economics 2018 – Fiscal openness: transparency, participation and accountability in fiscal policies. 2019. Alt J. [Twenty years of transparency research](/publication/twenty-years-transparency-research). In: Public Sector Economics 2018 – Fiscal openness: transparency, participation and accountability in fiscal policies. 2019. - [ picture\_as\_pdfTwenty\_years\_of\_transpare...](/sites/g/files/omnuum8626/files/2026-02/Twenty_years_of_transparency_research%202019.pdf) - [ picture\_as\_pdfTwenty\_years\_of\_transpare...](/sites/g/files/omnuum8626/files/2026-02/Twenty_years_of_transparency_research%202019.pdf) ### 2018 Alt J, Lassen DD. [Fiscal councils and fiscal transparency](/publication/fiscal-councils-and-fiscal-transparency). In: Independent Fiscal Councils: Watchdogs or Lapdogs. London, UK: CEPR Press; 2018. p. 8. Alt J, Lassen DD. [Fiscal councils and fiscal transparency](/publication/fiscal-councils-and-fiscal-transparency). In: Independent Fiscal Councils: Watchdogs or Lapdogs. London, UK: CEPR Press; 2018. p. 8. - [ picture\_as\_pdfAlt-Lassen Fiscal council...](/sites/g/files/omnuum8626/files/2026-02/Alt-Lassen%20Fiscal%20councils%20and%20fiscal%20transparency.pdf) - [ picture\_as\_pdfAlt-Lassen Fiscal council...](/sites/g/files/omnuum8626/files/2026-02/Alt-Lassen%20Fiscal%20councils%20and%20fiscal%20transparency.pdf) ### 2017 Alt J, Iversen T. [Inequality, Labor Market Segmentation, and Preferences for Redistribution](/publication/inequality-labor-market-segmentation-and-preferences-redistribution). American Journal of Political Science. 2017;61(1):15. Alt J, Iversen T. [Inequality, Labor Market Segmentation, and Preferences for Redistribution](/publication/inequality-labor-market-segmentation-and-preferences-redistribution). American Journal of Political Science. 2017;61(1):15. - [ descriptionPublisher's Version](https://www.jstor.org/stable/26379490) - [ picture\_as\_pdfAlt Iversen\_Inequality, L...](/sites/g/files/omnuum8626/files/2026-02/Alt%20Iversen_Inequality%2C%20Labor%20Market%20Segmentation%2C%20and%20Preferences%20for%20Redistribution.pdf) - [ descriptionPublisher's Version](https://www.jstor.org/stable/26379490) - [ picture\_as\_pdfAlt Iversen\_Inequality, L...](/sites/g/files/omnuum8626/files/2026-02/Alt%20Iversen_Inequality%2C%20Labor%20Market%20Segmentation%2C%20and%20Preferences%20for%20Redistribution.pdf) ### 2016 Alt J, Lassen DD, Marshall J. [Credible Sources and Sophisticated Voters: When Does New Information Induce Economic Voting?](/publication/credible-sources-and-sophisticated-voters-when-does-new-information-induce-economic) Journal of Politics. 2016;78(8):115. Alt J, Lassen DD, Marshall J. [Credible Sources and Sophisticated Voters: When Does New Information Induce Economic Voting?](/publication/credible-sources-and-sophisticated-voters-when-does-new-information-induce-economic) Journal of Politics. 2016;78(8):115. - [ picture\_as\_pdfCredible Sources and Soph...](/sites/g/files/omnuum8626/files/2026-02/Credible%20Sources%20and%20Sophisticated%20Voters%202016.pdf) - [ picture\_as\_pdfCredible Sources and Soph...](/sites/g/files/omnuum8626/files/2026-02/Credible%20Sources%20and%20Sophisticated%20Voters%202016.pdf) ### 2014 Alt J, Lassen DD. [Enforcement and Public Corruption: Evidence from the American States](/publication/enforcement-and-public-corruption-evidence-american-states). Journal of Law, Economics, & Organization. 2014;30(2):33. Alt J, Lassen DD. [Enforcement and Public Corruption: Evidence from the American States](/publication/enforcement-and-public-corruption-evidence-american-states). Journal of Law, Economics, & Organization. 2014;30(2):33. - [ picture\_as\_pdfAlt-Lassen\_enforcement an...](/sites/g/files/omnuum8626/files/2026-02/Alt-Lassen_enforcement%20and%20public%20corruption%202014.pdf) - [ picture\_as\_pdfAlt-Lassen\_enforcement an...](/sites/g/files/omnuum8626/files/2026-02/Alt-Lassen_enforcement%20and%20public%20corruption%202014.pdf) [ More arrow\_circle\_right ](/publications)