Michael L. Ross
Professor, UCLA Department of Political Science

Michael L. Ross is a professor at the University of California Los Angeles in the Department of Political Science and Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. He has held visiting positions at Oxford University and the World Bank, and was previously an assistant professor at the University of Michigan. He earned his Bachelor’s degree at the University of California Santa Cruz and his PhD at Princeton University.

Ross is widely known for his research on the politics of resource-rich countries, civil war, democracy, and gender rights. His most recent book, The Oil Curse: How Petroleum Wealth Shapes the Development of Nations was translated into four languages and was named an “Outstanding Academic Title” by Choice magazine. In 2009, he received the Heinz Eulau Award from the American Political Science Association for the best article published in the American Political Science Review.

Ross serves on the editorial boards for World Politics and Comparative Political Studies, the advisory board of the Natural Resources Governance Institute, and was a member of the U.S. Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative’s Multi Stakeholder Group and the World Bank’s Extractive Industries Review.