Sarah F. Anzia

About

Sarah Anzia is a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution and associate professor of public policy and political science at the University of California–Berkeley. Her research examines the politics of public policy in the United States with an emphasis on state and local governments and how interest groups, political parties, and political institutions shape policy outcomes.

She is the author of Local Interests: Politics, Policy, and Interest Groups in US City Governments (University of Chicago Press, 2022), which evaluates the political activity of interest groups in US local governments and how they shape local public policies on housing, business tax incentives, policing, and public service provision more broadly.

Her first book, Timing and Turnout: How Off-Cycle Elections Favor Organized Groups (University of Chicago Press, 2014), examines how the timing of elections can be manipulated to affect both voter turnout and the composition of the electorate, which, in turn, affect election outcomes and public policy. 

She has also published research on the political activity and influence of public-sector unions, the politics of public-employee pensions, policy feedback, and women in politics. Her work has been published in the American Political Science Review, the American Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Politics, and several other scholarly journals. She has also published in popular outlets including City Journal, Education Next, and the Washington Post.

Anzia has a PhD in political science from Stanford University, an MPP from the Harris School at the University of Chicago, and a BS in economics from Santa Clara University.