Cesi’s work focuses on the interplay between electoral incentives and economic outcomes and is published in the American Economic Review, American Journal of Political Science, Comparative Political Studies, and the Review of International Organizations. Her research uses social network analysis, surveys, and field experiments and is funded by organizations and agencies such as the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the U.S. National Science Foundation, the World Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank.

She obtained her PhD from the University of California, San Diego.