Dr Joachim Wehner

Dr Joachim Wehner

Associate Professor in Public Policy

Department of Government

Room No
CBG 3.22
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Languages
English, French, German
Key Expertise
Transparency, Legislatures, Public Finance, South African Politics

About me

Joachim Wehner is an Associate Professor in Public Policy with research interests in political economy, comparative politics and public policy. A focus of his work has been on accountability and transparency in government, especially in the context of public finances. Based on this work, he has given evidence to parliamentary committees in Canada, Estonia, Germany, South Africa and the United Kingdom, and worked as a consultant with civil society, legislatures, governments and international organisations such as the World Bank and the OECD to improve the use of public funds. Other current research relates to the right to vote and its consequences and a book project on economists as policymakers. His work has been published in the Journal of Politics, the British Journal of Political Science and World Development, amongst others. From 1997 to 2003, Joachim was a researcher at the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (Idasa), where he worked on budget policy and public finance legislation. Between 2012 to 2018, he was a founding Director of the Executive MPA programme and the Executive MPP for the UK Civil Service. He has also had visiting appointments at Harvard, the Hertie School in Berlin, Sciences Po Paris and Stellenbosch University.

Research interests

  • Political economy
  • Public finance
  • South African politics

Teaching responsibilities

  • GV342M: Philosophy, Politics and Economics: Capstone
  • PP4J5: Fiscal Governance and Budgeting
  • PP401: Political Science for Public Policy

Selected publications

  • ‘From Low-Cost Flights to the Ballot Box: How Eastern European Migration Shaped Far-Right Voting in London’, Journal of Politics (forthcoming) [with Elena Pupaza].
  • ‘Audits for Accountability: Evidence from Municipal By-Elections in South Africa’, Journal of Politics 48:3 (2022): 1581-1594 [with Daniel Berliner].
  • ‘When Do You Get Economists as Policy Makers?’, British Journal of Political Science 50:3 (2020): 1193-1205 [with Mark Hallerberg].
  • ‘A Better Life for All? Democratization and Electrification in Post-Apartheid South Africa’, Journal of Politics 78:3 (2016): 774-791 [with Verena Kroth and Valentino Larcinese].
  • ‘It Isn’t Just About Greece: Domestic Politics, Transparency, and Fiscal Gimmickry in Europe’, British Journal of Political Science 44:4 (2014): 707-716 [featured article, with James Alt and David Dreyer Lassen].