Professor Woon’s research enriches our understanding of human behavior in the context of basic democratic processes. His work addresses a variety of questions concerning elections, representation, competition, and communication. Can voters hold politicians accountable? Why isn’t the pool of candidates for office more diverse? Do elections increase the provision of public goods? Are parties’ reputations tied to what they do in government? How does competition affect the incentives for lying and do citizens know when they are being lied to? Professor Woon approaches these questions primarily by conducting incentivized small group and decision-making experiments, applying the methods of experimental and behavioral economics. He also generates insights from game theoretic and behavioral models, survey experiments, and the statistical analysis of elections, public opinion, and legislative behavior.
Courses
PS 0700 Research Methods in Political Science
PS 1250 Games, Politics, and Strategy
PS 1281 Capstone in American Politics
PS 1710 Formal Political Analysis
PS 2401 Behavioral Theory and Experiments
PS 2703 Formal Theory I
PS 2704 Formal Political Theory II
Education & Training
- PhD, Stanford University, 2005
Representative Publications
Woon, Jonathan, Sean Craig, Amanda Leifson, and Matthew Tarpey. 2020. “Trump is not a (Condorcet) Loser: Social Choice and the 2016 Republican Nomination” PS: Political Science & Politics
Minozzi, William and Jonathan Woon. 2020. “Direct Response and the Strategy Method in an Experimental Cheap Talk Game” Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics
Minozzi, William and Jonathan Woon. 2019. “The Limited Value of a Second Opinion: Competition and Exaggeration in Experimental Cheap Talk Games” Games and Economic Behavior
Dancey, Logan, Matthew Tarpey, and Jonathan Woon. 2019. “The Macro Dynamics of Partisan Advantage.” Political Research Quarterly
Woon, Jonathan and Kristin Kanthak. 2019. “Elections, Ability, and Candidate Honesty” Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization
Woon, Jonathan. 2018. “Primaries and Polarization: Behavioral Theory and Experimental Evidence.” American Political Science Review
Chaudoin, Stephen and Jonathan Woon. 2018. “How Hard to Fight? Cross-Player Effects and Strategic Sophistication in an Asymmetric Contest Experiment” Journal of Politics
Minozzi, William and Jonathan Woon. 2016. “Competition, Preference Uncertainty, and Jamming: A Strategic Communication Experiment” Games and Economic Behavior 96: 97-
114
Woon, Jonathan and Ian P. Cook. 2015. “Competing Gridlock Models and Status Quo Policies” Political Analysis 23(3): 385-399
Kanthak, Kristin and Jonathan Woon. 2015. “Women Don’t Run? Election Aversion and Candidate Entry” American Journal of Political Science 59(3): 595-612
Woon, Jonathan. 2014. “An Experimental Study of Electoral Incentives and Institutional Choice” Journal of Experimental Political Science 1(2): 181-200
Anderson, Sarah and Jonathan Woon. 2014. “Delaying the Buck: Timing and Strategic Advantages in Executive-Legislative Bargaining over Appropriations” Congress & The Presidency 41(1):25-48
Minozzi, William and Jonathan Woon. 2013. “Lying Aversion, Lobbying, and Context in a Strategic Communication Experiment” Journal of Theoretical Politics 25(3): 309-337
Woon, Jonathan. 2012. “Democratic Accountability and Retrospective Voting: A Laboratory Experiment” American Journal of Political Science 56(4): 913-930
Woon, Jonathan and Sarah Anderson. 2012. “Political Bargaining and the Timing of Congressional Appropriations” Legislative Studies Quarterly 37(4): 409-436
Hamman, John, Roberto Weber, and Jonathan Woon. 2011. “An Experimental Investigation of Electoral Delegation and the Provision of Public Goods” American Journal of Political
Science 55(4): 737-751
Pope, Jeremy C. and Jonathan Woon. 2009. “Measuring Changes in American Party Reputations, 1939-2004.” Political Research Quarterly 62(4): 653-661
Woon, Jonathan. 2009. “Change we Can Believe In? Using Political Science to Predict Policy Change in the Obama Presidency.” PS: Political Science & Politics 42(2): 329-334
Woon, Jonathan. 2009. “Issue Attention and Legislative Proposals in the U.S. Senate.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 34(1): 24-54
Woon, Jonathan and Jeremy C. Pope. 2008. “Made in Congress? Testing the Electoral Implications of Party Ideological Brand Names.” Journal of Politics 70(3): 823-836
Woon, Jonathan. 2008. “Bill Sponsorship in Congress: The Moderating Effect of Agenda Positions on Legislative Proposals.” Journal of Politics 70(1): 201-216
Woon, Jonathan. 2007. “Direct Democracy and the Selection of Representative Institutions: Voter Support for Apportionment Initiatives, 1924-1962.” State Politics and Policy Quarterly 7(2):
167-186
Research Interests
Experiments, Political Economy, Information, Strategic Communication, Game Theory, Representation, Political Parties, Congress, American Politics
