Stephanie J. Rickard is a Professor of Political Science at the London School of Economics in the Department of Government. She earned her PhD at the University of California, San Diego and her BA at the University of Rochester. Her research examines the effects of political institutions on economic policies and appears in journals such as International Organization, The Journal of Politics, British Journal of Political Science, and Comparative Political Studies.

In her new book, "Spending to Win", published by Cambridge University Press, Stephanie investigates why governments selectively target economic benefits, like subsidies, to businesses. Based on interviews with government ministers and bureaucrats, as well as parliamentary records, industry publications, local media coverage, and new quantitative data, Stephanie demonstrates that economic policy can be explained by the combination of electoral institutions and economic geography.

Stephanie serves on the editorial board of the journal International Organization. She has appeared on various media outlets to discuss events in the global economy, including BBC Radio 4's flagship Today programme.