PHD CANDIDATE

Chen is a PhD student MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning. He is interested in climate change and land governance. In the Political Economy Lab, Chen works on the climate crisis project.

MCP, MST, 2022

Ehab Ebeid comes from a small town in Giza, Egypt and is a student in the Master in City Planning program at MIT. He holds a BS in Urban Studies and a BA in History from Cornell University, and is broadly interested in issues of urban mobility. In the Political Economy Lab, Ehab primarily worked on projects on ride-hailing and the digital (gig) economy, particularly in South Africa.

PHD CANDIDATE

Jake is a third year PhD student at DUSP. In the Political Economy Lab, Jake explores rideshare drivers' perceptions of and potential alternatives to the employee/independent contractor classification of rideshare drivers. His research interests include economic and behavioral analysis of law, tort law issues in transportation, and the role of property law in economic development.

MCP 2024 CANDIDATE

Emma Heneine is a 2022-2024 Master’s in City Planning student in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT. In the political economy lab, Emma is primarily working on projects on the political economy of public health and global health markets. Emma is interested in the intersections between urban planning, global health, environmental sustainability, international development, and urban design.

UNDERGRADUATE, UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG

Xinyi Huang is a junior at the University of Hong Kong majoring in Economics with a minor in Urban Studies. She is interested in sustainable mobility and equitable infrastructure through the lens of political economy. In the Political Economy Lab, she works on the ride-hailing and digital economy project in Hong Kong.

DIRECTOR OF POLITICAL ECONOMY LAB

Jason Jackson is a Ford Career Development Assistant Professor in Political Economy and Urban Planning in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT.

LECTURER IN BUSINESS AND SOCIETY

Ayan is a Lecturer in the Department of Business and Society at Queen Mary University of London. His research examines the political economy of development, and the social and environmental transformations brought about by international capital mobility. In the Political Economy Lab, Ayan is primarily working on projects on economic nationalism and the work of the future. He is a 2022/23 Chateaubriand Fellow in residence with the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD) in Paris, France.

PHD CANDIDATE

Chenab is a PhD student in Urban Planning at DUSP. She studies the political economy of housing, with a focus on contestation between local organizers and residents, and shifts in global capital flows. In the Political Economy Lab, Chenab primarily works on projects on the rise of platforms in housing/real estate markets.

PHD CANDIDATE

Mrinalini is a doctoral researcher at DUSP where she specializes in climate change, urban poverty, and rural-to-urban migration with a cross-cutting focus on gender, access to public services, and questions of justice and equity. in the Political Economy Lab, Mrinalini works on the Climate Crisis project.

UNDERGRADUATE, WELLESLEY COLLEGE

Maimoonah Shafqat is a senior at Wellesley College majoring in Economics with a minor in Environmental Studies. Maimoonah is interested in environmental economics and the economics of development, particularly in South Asia. In the Political Economy Lab, she assists Professor Jackson with archival research for his forthcoming book projects, primarily on economic nationalism and the digital economy.

PHD CANDIDATE

JS Tan is a current PhD student in the International Development Group at DUSP. JS is interested in international development and the political economy of innovation, growth, and work. In the Political Economy Lab, JS is primarily working on projects on industrial policy.

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF LAW

Dr. Dan Traficonte is an Associate Professor of Law at Syracuse University College of Law & a faculty affiliate of SU’s Autonomous Systems Policy Institute, & completed his Ph.D. in Political Economy at MIT. His teaching & research is on law, political economy, innovation, and economic development — focusing on patents & the role of federal R&D programs & university research in shaping science & technology. Dan is primarily working on projects on industrial policy.