The Work of Christie McDonald
Publications
Smith Professor emerita of French Language and Literature, Department of Romance Languages and Literatures
Professor emerita of Comparative Literature
Harvard University
A Conversation with History
Scholarship is a slow, deliberate conversation with history. We examine complex institutions not as static monuments, but as evolving systems shaped by historical friction, archival evidence, and deep empirical foundations.
Core Research Themes
Investigating the complex intersection of historical state capacity, institutional development, and long-run economic outcomes through rigorous quantitative methodologies and deep archival research.
Institutional Friction
State Capacity
Empirical Foundations
Analyzing how historical regulatory barriers, administrative bottlenecks, and institutional frictions delay modern economic integration and growth.
Tracing the long-run evolution of fiscal systems, state capacity, and public goods provision from early modern Europe to contemporary societies.
Utilizing newly digitized archival records to reconstruct historical trade flows, wealth distribution patterns, and empirical foundations of policy.
Access the Complete Scholarship
Explore five decades of peer-reviewed monographs, working papers, and active policy briefs. Gain immediate access to authoritative data and empirical research.