I am a Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham’s Centre for Elections, Democracy, Accountability and Representation (CEDAR). I work in the fields of comparative politics and political economy, with a regional focus on Latin America. My research examines political accountability, anti-corruption efforts, threats to democracy, democratic resilience, and the political economy of environmental degradation.
My book manuscript focuses on how the reaction of political elites moderate the effects of anti-corruption investigations and convictions in Brazil. In on-going cross-national projects, I examine the implications of anti-corruption surges for democracy and the consequences of convicting former heads of government on corruption charges. I also work on topics such as the impact of nepotistic hiring in political bargaining, how political parties evade measures aimed at preventing electoral fraud, and the political economy of deforestation.
I grew up in Porto Alegre (Brazil) and received my PhD in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). I hold an MSc in Economics from Bocconi University, a Masters in Political Economy of Development from Barcelona Institute of International Studies (IBEI) and a BA in Economics from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). I previously worked as a post-doctoral researcher at Bocconi University. My research has been funded by the American Bar Foundation, J-PAL Governance Initiative, the Tinker Institute, UCLA’s International and Latin American Institutes, and Bank of Italy’s Einaudi Institute. I am a fellow of Corruption in the Global South.
Contact: m.gehrkeryffmoreira (at) bham.ac.uk
Twitter: @Manoel_Gehrke
Manoel Gehrke 