Patrick Hamm

Graduate Student in Sociology

Biographical Note

Originally from Germany, Patrick is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Sociology. His primary research interest is the political economy of post-communist capitalisms, with a focus on the interplay between structural and political forces in shaping institutional outcomes in Russia and China. His written work thus far has focused on the impact of mass privatization and foreign investment on growth, state capacity, and mortality using cross-national time-series regression analysis. Patrick has been a teaching fellow for three classes in the sociology department, including David Ager's Leadership and Organizations, Peter Marsden's Quantitative Methods in Sociology, and David Ager’s Introduction to the Sociology of Organizations. In addition, he has served as the Information Coordinator for the Harvard Graduate Student Council (2006-2008), and as a representative on the Committee on Higher Degrees (2007-2008); he is currently one of two graduate student representatives on the FAS Student-Faculty Judicial Board.

His most recent employment experience was with Oxford Analytica, a British-based consulting firm that provides political economy and public policy analysis to government and private clients.

Patrick received a B.A. in Ethics, Politics & Economics from Yale University in 2004 and an A.M in Sociology from Harvard University in 2008.

03/13/2009

Research Interests

Political Economy, comparative capitalisms, critical theory, Russia, China

Previous Degrees

Yale University, B.A. in Ethics, Politics & Economics, with Distinction and Honors (2004)

Qualifying Paper Title

Foreign Investment, Socioeconomic Development, and the Institutional Capacity of States - A Panel Study of Transition Economies

Committee

Martin K. Whyte, Christopher Winship, and Lawrence P. King (University of Cambridge)

Abstract

My Qualifying Paper paper evaluates the role of foreign direct investment in the transition from socialism to capitalism. Fixed-effects panel regressions indicate a positive impact of foreign direct investment on socioeconomic development. Further analysis reveals that this impact is contingent upon the presence of a strong, bureaucratic state in the host economy, and that, in the absence of such a state, the net effect of foreign direct investment on socioeconomic development may be negative. All findings are robust in light of instrumental variable estimation, which is used to account for potential endogeneity problems. In addition to highlighting the centrality of foreign direct investment as a catalyst for development in the transition from socialism to capitalism, the present research also emphasizes the need for a strong, developmentally active state in situations of economic uncertainty.

Papers available in Portable Document Format (PDF)

Presentations and Publications

Miscellaneous Additional Information

Optional Sections on General Exams

Political Sociology, Sociology of Development

Oral Exam Topic

Comparative Sociology of Transition

Research Assistantships

- Professor Marty Whyte: China Inequality and Distributive Justice Survey Project
- Professor Neil Gross: Attitudes of the American Professoriate Project

Software Skills

Stata, Atlas.ti

Contact

617-496-3695 (Phone)
617-496-5794 (FAX)

563 William James Hall
33 Kirkland Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

Office Hours

by appointment