Educational Background
Yale University, B.A. in Ethics, Politics and Economics, 2006
Oxford University, M.Phil. in Economics, 2008
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ph.D. in Economics, Exp. 2012

Biography
Jessica Leight is a third year Ph.D. candidate in economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  Currently at MIT, Jessica specializes in development economics, political economy, and health economics. She previously received an MPhil in economics with distinction from Oxford University in 2008 as a Rhodes scholar, receiving the George Webb Medley prize (proxime accessit) for excellence in the degree, continuing in her study of economics and writing a thesis on intra-household allocation in China.

Jessica earned a B.A. in Ethics, Politics and Economic (summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) from Yale University in 2004, receiving the Alpheus Henry Snow and Hart Lyman prizes for the student judged first in intellectual achievement and character in the senior and junior years and the Warren Memorial High Scholarship prize for the senior ranked highest in the humanities.  Also at Yale, she wrote a thesis examining misconceptions surrounding economic liberalization and growth in Chile and Argentina.She was the recipient of the Richard U. Light fellowship, the Georg Leitner grant in comparative and political economy, and a Bates fellowship for independent research. 

Jessica's previous publications have included two Harvard Business School case studies, an article in the Journal of Latin American Studies, and a recent retrospective of public choice theory published in the volume Government and Markets: Toward a New Theory of Regulation. Her current research focuses on the impact of inequality and land reform on economic and political outcomes. Jessica is an excellent pianist and a fantastic cook.

1.  "Public Choice: A Critical Reassessment."  In Government and Markets: Towards a New Theory of Regulation, ed. David Moss and Edward Balleisen.  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (2010). 

This paper criticizes the extant literature in public choice on the topic of regulation and the government role in the economy, analyzing the extent to which flawed theoretical and empirical reasoning has been used to bolster the case that government participation in regulation should be minimal.

2.  "The Political Dynamics of Agricultural Liberalisation in the U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement."  Journal of Latin American Studies (2008) 40: 225-249. 

This paper analyzes the political dynamics around the passage in Chile of the U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement, particularly the provisions on agricultural liberalization, and argues that the coalition that formed in opposition to the agreement was an unusual example of unlikely political alliances in favor of a common goal.

3. "Chile - The Conundrum of Inequality."  Harvard Business School Case Study.  2006.

This case outlined the developmental history of Chile and posed several dilemmas in policy that hold for a country that has long been dependent on export commodities and a highly unequal distribution of wealth.

1. "Economics and Democracy." 

This paper offers a critical overview of the extant economic literature analyzing the operation of democracy and sets out a research agenda for future papers.

2.  "The Race to the Swift?  Intrahousehold Allocation in China." 

This paper analyzes household decision-making around the issue of educational funding in China and the extent to which ability determines educational funding.

1. "Analysis of Community Monitoring." in www.satvathealthcare.com (2010)

This paper analyzes the potential importance of independent, external quality control monitoring in maintaining or improving levels of health services performance in both developing and developed countries.