Ken Shotts

Research Statement

Professor Shotts uses game theory to analyze how elections and political institutions influence government policy choices. He has published papers on electoral accountability, presidential leadership, racial redistricting, term limits, political risk, policy entrepreneurship, and media & propaganda in fragile democracies.

Research Interests

• Political economy
• Electoral accountability
• Policy entrepreneurship

Teaching Statement

Ken teaches core MBA and MSx classes on Leading with Values, and has a forthcoming book (with Neil Malhotra) based on this class: "Leading with Values: Strategies for Making Ethical Decisions in Business and Life." He also teaches in several Executive Education programs, including the Stanford Executive Program and the Stanford LEAD online program.

Bio

Kenneth W. Shotts is The David S. and Ann M. Barlow Professor of Political Economy at Stanford Graduate School of Business. He received his BA in political science from Stanford in 1993 and his PhD from Stanford GSB in 1999. In addition to his time at Stanford, he has taught at Northwestern and the University of Michigan, and has been a visiting scholar at the Hoover Institution, Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, and the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences.

Academic Degrees

• PhD in Political Economy, Stanford GSB, 1999
• BA in Political Science, Stanford University, 1993

Academic Appointments

• David S. and Ann M. Barlow Professor of Political Economy, Stanford GSB, 2011-present
• Professor of Political Economy, Stanford GSB, 2009–11
• Associate Professor of Political Economy (with tenure), Stanford GSB, 2006–09
• Associate Professor of Political Economy (untenured), Stanford GSB, 2003–06
• Assistant Professor of Political Science, Northwestern University, 1998–2003

Awards and Honors

• Coulter Family Faculty Fellow for 2021–22
• Stanford GSB Trust Faculty Fellow, 2013–14

Books

• Leading with Values
  Neil Malhotra, Ken Shotts Cambridge University Press 2022