Alexander Trubowitz

Postdoctoral Prize Research Fellow in Politics
Nuffield College, University of Oxford

I am Alexander (Sander) Trubowitz, a Postdoctoral Prize Research Fellow in Politics at Nuffield College, University of Oxford. I work on comparative and international political economy, with a particular focus on the politics of technological change.

In my book manuscript, I develop and test a theory to explain why compensation and retraining often fail to address the losses workers face from technological displacement, drawing on new archival evidence from Britain and Germany.

My other work is published or forthcoming in The Journal of Politics, Comparative Political Studies, Political Behavior, and Socio-Economic Review.

I completed my Ph.D. in Political Science at Yale University in 2025 and graduated summa cum laude from Tufts University in Classics and Political Science. I have been a visiting researcher at the University of Konstanz and the University of Bonn.

Publications

• “Exclusionary Backlash to Job Loss: Evidence from Germany.” Forthcoming, The Journal of Politics. PDF
• “Electoral Rules, Programmatic Competition, and Redistribution: Evidence from Interwar France” (with Isabela Mares). Comparative Political Studies (2026). Winner, 2024 CQ Press Award for Best Paper in Legislative Studies; 2024 Best Paper Award by APSA's European Politics and Society section. PDF
• “Preferences under Pressure: Financial Strain and Support for Progressive Taxation” (with Sam Zacher). Socio-Economic Review (2026). PDF
• “The Insurance Value of Abortion and Support for Reproductive Rights” (with Natalie Hernandez and Sam Zacher). Political Behavior (2025). PDF

Book Manuscript

• "The Limits of Welfare Capitalism: Technological Change, Industrial Conflict, and the Anglo-German Divergence." Table of Contents and Chapter 1: PDF

Working Papers

• “Informational Barriers to Compensatory Bargains: Why Workers Defend Redundant Jobs” (job market paper). Revise and resubmit, World Politics. PDF
• “Protection versus Compensation: The Class Divide in Advanced Democracies.” Revise and resubmit, Perspectives on Politics. PDF

Works in Progress

• “International Competition and Support for AI Regulation" (with Paul Marx).
• “Why Was Trade Adjustment Assistance a Political Failure?”
• “American Welfare State Exceptionalism: Theories and Evidence.”
• “Postwar Wage-Setting in Britain, Sweden, and West Germany: The Irrelevance of Corporatist Institutions.”

CV

Download my CV

Contact

Email: sander.trubowitz@nuffield.ox.ac.uk