Curriculum Vitae

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Contact

Department of Data and Decision Sciences

Emory University

36 Eagle Row, 4th Floor, Room 480

Atlanta, GA 30322, USA

Online

danilo.freire@emory.edu

danilofreire.github.io

github.com/danilofreire

Google Scholar · ORCID

Academic appointments

2024–presentVisiting Assistant ProfessorDepartment of Data and Decision Sciences, Emory University
2024–presentHonorary Senior FellowSchool of Social and Political Sciences, University of Lincoln
2021–2024Senior LecturerSchool of Social and Political Sciences, University of Lincoln
2018–2020Postdoctoral Research AssociatePolitical Theory Project, Brown University

Education

PhD · 2018Political EconomyKing’s College London
MA · 2014International RelationsThe Graduate Institute Geneva
MA · 2011Political ScienceUniversity of São Paulo
BA · 2007Social SciencesUniversity of São Paulo

Research interests

SubstantivePublic Policy · Political Violence · Organised Crime · Collective Action · Brazilian Politics
MethodsComputational Social Science · Impact Evaluation · Field Experiments · Meta-Analysis

Publications

Peer-reviewed articles
2026Investigating the Analytical Robustness of the Social and Behavioural Sciences
With Balázs Aczél, Barnabás Szászi, Brian A. Nosek, and others
Nature, 652, 135–142.
2025The Reliability of Replications: A Study in Computational Reproductions
With Nate Breznau, Eike Mark Rinke, Alexander Wuttke, and others
Royal Society Open Science, 12(3), 241038.
2025Legislature Size and Welfare: Evidence From Brazil
With Umberto Mignozzetti and Gabriel Cepaluni
American Journal of Political Science, 69(3), 831–846.
2023Vigilantism and Institutions: Attitudes toward Lynching in Brazil
With David Skarbek
Research & Politics, 10(1), 1–8.
2021The Effect of Legislature Size on Distributive Politics: A Meta-Analysis
With Umberto Mignozzetti, Catarina Roman, and Huzeyfe Alptekin
British Journal of Political Science.
2021Institutional Design and Elite Support for Climate Policies: Evidence from Latin American Countries
With Umberto Mignozzetti and David Skarbek
Journal of Experimental Political Science, Summer 2021, 172–184.
2020Bottom-Up Accountability and Public Service Provision: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Brazil
With Manoel Galdino and Umberto Mignozzetti
Research & Politics, 7(2), 1–8.
2019congressbr: An R Package for Analysing Data from Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies and Federal Senate
With Robert McDonnell and Guilherme Duarte
Latin American Research Review, 54(4), 958–969.
2019Beasts of Prey or Rational Animals? Private Governance in Brazil’s Jogo do Bicho
Danilo Freire
Latin American Perspectives, 46(4), 230–244.
2018Evaluating the Effect of Homicide Prevention Strategies in São Paulo, Brazil: A Synthetic Control Approach
Danilo Freire
Latin American Research Review, 53(2), 231–249.
2018prisonbrief: An R Package that Returns Tidy Data from the World Prison Brief Website
With Robert McDonnell
Journal of Open Source Software, 3(22), 361.
2015Lack of Preferences, Political Trust and Education Levels: Alternative Explanations for Invalid Votes in Brazilian Elections
With Guilherme Arbache and Pietro Rodrigues
Encuentro Latinoamericano, 1(1), 29–50.
2014Between Ballot Boxes and Guns: The Competitiveness of the Executive Branch and Civil Wars, 1976–2000
Danilo Freire
Revista Española de Ciencia Política, 36, 33–60.
Working papers
Financial Incentives and Health Care Provision: Evidence from an Aedes aegypti Control Programme in Brazil
With Umberto Mignozzetti · Under review
Legislative Outcomes and Malapportionment: Evidence from Latin America
With Umberto Mignozzetti and Catarina Roman
Democratising Policy Analytics with AutoML
Danilo Freire
What Drives State-Sponsored Violence? Evidence from Extreme Bounds Analysis and Ensemble Learning Methods
With Gary Uzonyi
Environmental Protection in Weak Party Systems: Evidence from Brazil
With Umberto Mignozzetti · In preparation
Natural Disasters and Identity Reconstruction Among Syrian Refugees
With Hamoon Khelghat-Doost · In preparation
Book
2020Natural Resources and Policy Choices in Latin America
Edited with Giovanna França and Umberto Mignozzetti
São Paulo: Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
Book chapters
2017Prison Gangs
With David Skarbek
In: Griffin & Woodward (eds.). Handbook of Corrections in the United States. London: Routledge, 399–408.
2010A Nova Gestão Pública e a Qualidade da Democracia
Danilo Freire
In: Erkens (ed.). Nova Gestão Pública. São Paulo: Instituto Friedrich Naumann, 9–15.
Other publications
2019Geopolitics of Renewable Energies in Latin America: A Survey
With Umberto Mignozzetti
Policy Report, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung.
2015Peering at Open Peer Review
Danilo Freire
The Political Methodologist, 23(1), 6–11.
2015Book Review: Causal Inference, Shaolin-Style — “Mastering Metrics” by Angrist & Pischke
Danilo Freire
Brazilian Political Science Review, 9(3), 178–185.
2014Entering the Underworld: Prison Gang Recruitment in São Paulo’s Primeiro Comando da Capital
Danilo Freire
MA Thesis, The Graduate Institute Geneva.
2013Book Review: “Why Nations Fail” by Acemoglu & Robinson
Danilo Freire
Meridiano47, 14(135).
2011Entre Urnas e Armas: A Competitividade do Executivo e as Guerras Civis, 1976–2000
Danilo Freire
MA Thesis, University of São Paulo, 204p.

Software

pinochet — Data about the victims of the Pinochet regime, 1973–1990
With Lucas Mingardi and Robert McDonnell
congressbr — Downloads and tidies legislative data from the Brazilian Federal Senate and Chamber of Deputies
With Robert McDonnell and Guilherme Duarte
prisonbrief — Returns tidy data from the World Prison Brief website
With Robert McDonnell

Fellowships and awards

2024Research GrantUniversity of California, San Diego · US$25,000 · with Umberto Mignozzetti and Tereza Petrovicova
2022–presentAssociate Fellow (PR240832)Advance HE
2021–presentEGAP FellowEvidence in Governance and Politics
2020Research GrantKing’s College London · US$10,000 · with David Skarbek
2019Research GrantGetulio Vargas Foundation · US$64,000 · with Mignozzetti & Skarbek
2018Research GrantKonrad Adenauer Stiftung · US$64,000 · with Mignozzetti & Skarbek
2017–2019Google Social Impact Challenge GrantUS$300,000 · with Galdino & Mignozzetti
2016–2018Adam Smith FellowshipMercatus Center, George Mason University · US$10,000
2016–2017PhD ScholarshipInstitute for Humane Studies · US$1,500
2015–2018Graduate School International Research StudentshipKing’s College London · US$58,000
2015–2018PhD ScholarshipBrazilian Ministry of Education · US$76,000
2009–2011MA ScholarshipBrazilian Ministry of Education

Selected presentations & invited talks

2021Casting the First Stone: Attitudes Towards Lynchings in BrazilUniversity of Washington; Oxford; Notre Dame; São Paulo Military Police Academy
2021Democratising Policy Analytics with AutoMLSociety for Policy Analytics, Mercatus Center
2020Incentives in Health Care Prevention: Evidence from an Aedes aegypti Control ProgrammeGlobal South Academic Network, University of Essex
2019–2020Institutional Design and Elite Support for Climate PoliciesAPSA, Washington DC; SPSA, San Juan
2019Latin American Elites Favour Polycentric Governance in Climate Change AgreementsMPSA, Chicago
2019What Drives State-Sponsored Violence?Public Choice Society, Louisville
2017Three Ideas from the Vienna, Virginia, and Bloomington Schools of Political EconomyHayek Group Meeting, Friedrich Naumann Stiftung & Prometheus, Berlin
2017Beasts of Prey or Rational Animals? Private Governance in Brazil’s Jogo do BichoVI Oxbridge Conference on Brazilian Studies, Cambridge

Teaching

Emory University
2024–presentDATASCI 385 — Experimental Methods Undergraduate
2024–presentDATASCI 350 — Data Science Computing Undergraduate/Graduate
2025–presentDATASCI 185 — Introduction to AI Applications Undergraduate
2024–presentDATASCI 151 — Introduction to Statistical Computing II Undergraduate
Workshops
2024EGAP Learning Days 15 — Field Experiments in the Social Sciences Medellín, with Aguilar, Bowers, Maldonado & Seither
2023EGAP Learning Days 13 — Field Experiments in the Social Sciences Mexico City, with Aguilar, Bowers, Maldonado & Voors
Previous
2021–2024Policing Crime and DevianceUniversity of Lincoln, with Ellis & Gaschino
2021–2024Human RightsUniversity of Lincoln, with Cowen & Trantidis
2019POLS 1824W — Political Violence Brown University, Fall
2019POLS 1600 — Political Research Methods Brown University, Winter
2017Political Economy and InstitutionsOMMA & Universidad Francisco Marroquín, Graduate
2017Principles of Economics I & IIKing’s College London, TA for D. Skarbek & K. Matakos

Skills

SoftwarePython · R · Stata · SPSS · SQL · git · vimscript · Quarto · Markdown · HTML · LaTeX
LanguagesPortuguese (native) · English (fluent) · Spanish (fluent) · French (intermediate)

Service

2024–presentAssociate EditorInternational Social Science Journal
2021–2026Associate EditorHumanities & Social Sciences Communications
2012–2016Co-editorLeviathan, University of São Paulo
RefereeAmerican Journal of Political Science · Civil Wars · Electoral Studies · Frontiers in Sociology · Journal of Latin American Studies · Journal of Peace Research · Journal of Public Economics · Latin American Research Review · Leviathan · Oxford Economic Papers · Political Behavior · Political Studies Review · Politikon · Princeton University Press · Revista Española de Ciencia Política · SAGE Open · The Social Science Journal · Swiss Political Science Review

Memberships

ProfessionalAmerican Economic Association · American Political Science Association · Evidence in Governance and Politics · Global South Academic Network · Society for Policy Analytics · Society for Political Methodology