I am Mate Malashkhia, a Postdoctoral Associate at the W. Allen Wallis Institute of Political Economy at the University of Rochester. I received my Ph.D. in Economics from Washington University in St. Louis.  

My primary research areas are Microeconomic Theory, Political Economy, and Applied Microeconomics, with a secondary interest in Industrial Organization. I develop game-theoretic models to examine how interactions among rulers, firms, opposition groups, citizens, and foreign actors shape economic and political outcomes. A central theme of my work is that these actors’ strategic responses sometimes overturn familiar expectations about both what rulers can achieve through political power and how that power shapes citizens’ economic well-being and the prospects for regime survival. Empirically, I study how major life disruptions, information content, and message presentation shape citizens’ political attitudes and willingness to undertake costly collective action.

I am on the 2026-2027 academic job market.