Cesar A Martinelli

Professor

Economic theory, game theory, political economy, experimental economics

Cesar Martinelli is a professor of economics at George Mason University. He is a fellow of the Econometric Society and an Economic Theory fellow. He is currently an advisory editor for Games and Economic Behavior and a past editor for Social Choice and Welfare. He has published numerous articles in professional journals, including The Review of Economic Studies, The Economic Journal, Theoretical Economics, The Journal of Economic Theory, Games and Economic Behavior, The Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, The Journal of the European Economic Association, The International Economic Review, Economic Theory, European Economic Review, The Journal of Public Economics, Social Choice and Welfare, Public Choice, and others. Before joining George Mason, he held faculty appointments at ITAM and at Carlos IIII University in Madrid. He has been a visiting professor at the University of Chicago (2011) and a visiting assistant professor at the University of Rochester (1997-1998). He obtained a PhD in economics at UCLA in 1993 and a BA in social sciences (economics) at the Catholic University of Peru in 1987.

Current Research

Currently working on oligopoly pricing (with Ruolong Xiao), elections and conflict (with David Levine, Nicole Stoelinga), rational ignorance in the lab (with Nick Brown, Dan Houser), voting and AI (with Hans Gersbach), search (with David Austen-Smith), price controls, theory and experiments (with Edgar Castro), electoral accountability and corruption, theory and evidence (with Janneth Leyva), media platform competition and AI (with Abhishek Ray).

Selected Publications

Razor-Thin Mass Elections with High Turnout, with David K. Levine, International Economic Review vol. 65: 1607–1624 (2024)

Assignment Markets: Theory and Experiments, with Arthur Dolgopolov, Dan Houser and Thomas Stratmann, European Economic Review vol. 165: 104738 (2024)

Accountability and Grand Corruption, American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, vol 14: 645–679 (2022)

Electoral Accountability and Responsive Democracy, with John Duggan, Economic Journal, vol. 130: 675–715 (2020); included in a special virtual on Accountability and Electoral Selection (June 2025)

Cheating and Incentives: Learning from a Policy Experiment, with Susan W. Parker, Ana Cristina Pérez-Gea, and Rodimiro Rodrigo, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, vol. 10: 298–325 (2018)

Expanded Publication List

Razor-Thin Mass Elections with High Turnout, with David K. Levine, International Economic Review vol. 65: 1607–1624 (2024)

Competition and Cognition in the Market for Online News, with Abhishek Ray and Hossein Ghasemkhani, Journal of Management Information Systems vol. 41: 367–393 (2024)

Assignment Markets: Theory and Experiments, with Arthur Dolgopolov, Dan Houser and Thomas Stratmann, European Economic Review vol. 165: 104738 (2024)

Economic Consequences of Mass Migration: The Venezuelan Exodus in Peru, with Cynthia Boruchowicz and Susan W. Parker, Economía LACEA Journal vol. 23: 107–136 (2024)

An Algebraic Approach to Revealed Preference, with Mikhail Freer, Economic Theory vol. 75: 717–742 (2023)

Competition with Indivisibilities and Few Traders, with Jianxin Wang and Weiwei Zheng, Experimental Economics vol. 26: 78–106 (2023)

Responsive Democracy and Commercial Media, with Saptarshi Ghosh, Nidhi Jian, and Jaideep Roy, Economics Letters vol. 222: 110961 (2023)

Accountability and Grand Corruption, American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, vol. 14: 645–679 (2022)

Review of The Political Economy of Development: A Game Theoretic Approach by Robert H. Gates, Political Science Quarterly vol. 137: 413–414 (2022)

A Utility Representation Theorem for General Revealed Preference, with Mikhail Freer, Mathematical Social Sciences vol. 111: 68–76 (2021)

The History of Peru, with Marco Vega, in A Monetary and Fiscal History of Latin America, 1960–2017 (Juan Pablo Nicolini and Timothy J. Kehoe, eds.), University of Minnesota Press (2021)

Electoral Accountability and Responsive Democracy, with John Duggan, Economic Journal, vol. 130: 675–715 (2020)

Collective Experimentation: A Laboratory Study, with Mikhail Freer and Siyu Wang, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, vol. 175: 365–379 (2020)

Ignorance and Bias in Collective Decisions, with Alexander Elbittar, Andrei Gomberg, and Thomas R. Palfrey, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, vol. 174: 332–359 (2020)

Communication and Information in Games of Collective Decision, with Thomas R. Palfrey, Handbook of Experimental Game Theory (C. Monica Capra, Rachel Croson, Mary Rigdon, and Tanya Rosenblat eds.), Edward Elgar Publishing (2020)

The Economic Legacy of General Velasco: Long-Term Consequences of Interventionism, with Marco Vega, Economía (PUCP), vol. 42: 102–133 (2019)

Politics, Entertainment and Business: A Multisided Model of Media, with Alejandro Castañeda, Public Choice, vol. 174: 239–256 (2018)

The Political Economy of Dynamic Elections: Accountability, Commitment and Responsiveness, with John Duggan, Journal of Economic Literature, vol. 55: 916–984 (2017)

Oligarchy, Democracy and State Capacity, with Helios Herrera, Economic Theory, vol. 52: 165–186 (2017)

Information and Participation in Social Programs, with David Coady and Susan W. Parker, World Bank Economic Review, vol. 27: 149–170 (2017)

A Spatial Theory of Media Slant and Voter Choice, with John Duggan, Review of Economic Studies, vol. 78: 640–666 (2011)

Deception and Misreporting in a Social Program, with Susan W. Parker, Journal of the European Economic Association, vol. 7: 886–908 (2011)

Bargaining over Public Goods, with Julio Dávila and Jan Eeckhout, Journal of Public Economic Theory, vol. 11: 927–945 (2009)

Policy Platforms, Campaign Spending and Voter Participation, with Helios Herrera and David K. Levine, Journal of Public Economics, vol. 92: 501–513 (2008)

Do School Subsidies Promote Human Capital Accumulation among the Poor?, with Susan W. Parker, Scandinavian Journal of Economics, vol. 110: 261–276 (2008)

Rational Ignorance and Voting Behavior, International Journal of Game Theory, vol. 35: 315–335 (2007)

When Are Stabilizations Delayed? Alesina-Drazen Revisited, with Raúl Escorza, European Economic Review, vol. 51: 1223–1245 (2007)

Group Formation and Voter Participation, with Helios Herrera, Theoretical Economics, vol. 1: 461–487 (2006)

Would Rational Voters Acquire Costly Information?, Journal of Economic Theory, vol. 129: 225–251 (2006)

Anonymity in Large Societies, with Andrei Gomberg and Ricard Torres, Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 25: 187–205 (2005)

Should Transfers to Poor Families be Conditional on School Attendance? A Household Bargaining Perspective, with Susan W. Parker, International Economic Review, vol. 44: 523–544 (2003)

Simple Plurality versus Plurality Runoff with Privately Informed Voters, Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 19: 901–920 (2002)

Convergence Results for Unanimous Voting, Journal of Economic Theory, vol. 105: 278–297 (2002)

Policy Reversals: Electoral Competition with Privately Informed Parties, with Akihiko Matsui, Journal of Public Economic Theory, vol. 4: 39–61 (2002)

A Bayesian Model of Voting in Juries, with John Duggan, Games and Economic Behavior, vol. 37: 259–294 (2001)

Elections with Privately Informed Parties and Voters, Public Choice, vol. 108: 147–167 (2001)

Reputation with Noisy Precommitment, with David K. Levine, Journal of Economic Theory, vol. 78: 55–75 (1998)

Small Firms, Borrowing Constraints, and Reputation, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, vol. 33: 91–105 (1997)

Sequencing of Economic Reforms in the Presence of Political Constraints, with Mariano Tommasi, Economics & Politics, vol. 9: 115–131 (1997)

Education

1987 BA in Social Sciences (Economics), Catholic University of Peru

1991 MA in Economics, University of California, Los Angeles

1993 PhD in Economics, University of California, Los Angeles

Recent Presentations

"Vote or Fight?" Invited presentation, Alberto Alesina Seminar on Political Economy, Department of Economics, Harvard University, November 14, 2024.

"Vote or Fight?" Invited presentation, joint micro seminar University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, May 22, 2025.

"Why Do People Protest? A Theory of Emotions, Public Policy, and Political Unrest." Invited presentation, Sorbonne Workshop in Economic Theory 2023 in honor of David Levine. 2023.

"Razor-Thin Elections." Invited presentation, Yale Conference on Voting and Governance. 2023.

"Career Incentives and Corruption: A Lab Experiment." Invited presentation, 6th ETH Zurich Workshop on Political Economy. 2023.

In the Media

Debate about the colonial legacy and institutions in Peru: ¿Por qué fracasó el Perú? Programa La Encerrona (October 20, 2024)

Moderator in Webinar After Covid-19: challenges for global leadership (April 16, 2020)

Interviews about corruption and political campaigns in Peru:

Revista Caretas (December 2, 2019)

Diario El Comercio (November 28, 2019)

Cheating and Incentives: Learning from a Policy Experiment, with Susan W. Parker, Ana Cristina Pérez-Gea, and Rodimiro Rodrigo, featured in AEA Research Highlights (March 5, 2018)

Deception and Misreporting in a Social Program, with Susan W. Parker, featured in:

New York Times blog Freakonomics (June 23, 2008)

Radio program The Takeaway (June 24, 2008)

Dissertations Supervised

Edgar Castro Mendez, Three Essays on Public Economics and Market Interventions (2023)

Artur Dolgopolov, Dynamic Games, Social Preferences, and Assignment Markets: Theory and Experiments (2020)

Weiwei Zheng, Three Essays on Market Institutions (2020)

Mikhail Freer, Essays on Preference Extensions (2017)