Christopher Blattman is a Scientific Advisor for IPA's Peace & Recovery (P&R) Program. He is the Ramalee E. Pearson Professor of Global Conflict Studies at The University of Chicago, in the Harris School of Public Policy. A faculty member at The Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts, he focuses on why some people and societies are violent, oppressive, and poor and what can be done about it. He works in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and the United States.

Chris has been at the University of Chicago since 2016. Before that, he was an Associate Professor of International Affairs and Political Science at Columbia University and an Assistant Professor of Political Science and Economics at Yale. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley, an MPA/ID from Harvard University’s Kennedy School, and a BA in Economics from the University of Waterloo.