Rate My Professor Gergely Ujhelyi

Gergely Ujhelyi is a Professor of Economics and PhD Program Director in the Department of Economics at the University of Houston. He earned his PhD in Economics from Harvard University in 2007, an MA in Economics from Central European University in 2002, and an MSc in Economics from Budapest University of Economics in 2001. A member of Rajk College for Advanced Studies from 1997 to 2002, he joined the University of Houston in 2007 as an Assistant Professor, was promoted to Associate Professor in 2014, and to Professor in 2023. Ujhelyi directs the Economics PhD admissions since 2023. His research in political economy, public economics, and development economics examines government functioning, including bureaucrats and governing rules, politician supply and demand, policy implementation, bureaucratic organization, civil service reform, political budget cycles, corruption, trade liberalization and gender inequality, nonpayment for public utilities, highway finance, voting technology, and nature conservation. He uses game-theoretic models, randomized field experiments, and structural models.

Ujhelyi's publications appear in leading journals including American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, Journal of the European Economic Association, Journal of Public Economics, and Journal of Development Economics. Key works include "Civil Service Rules and Policy Choices: Evidence from US State Governments" (American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2014), "Bureaucrats and Policies in Equilibrium Administrations" with Jean Guillaume Forand and Michael Ting (Journal of the European Economic Association, 2023), "National Parks and Economic Development" with Andrea Szabó (Journal of Public Economics, forthcoming 2024), "None Of The Above: Protest Voting in the World’s Largest Democracy" with Sugat Chatterjee and Andrea Szabó (Journal of the European Economic Association, 2021), and "Political Budget Cycles and the Civil Service: Evidence from Highway Spending in US States" with David Bostashvili (Journal of Public Economics, 2019). Cited over 1,900 times on Google Scholar, his research has significant academic impact. Awards include the Archimedes Prize of the European Commission (2001), Provost’s Certificate of Excellence from the University of Houston (2014), and grants from the W.E. Upjohn Institute (2011) and Water Research Commission of South Africa (2012). He was Associate Editor of Economics & Politics (2017-2022) and reviews for top journals and agencies like the National Science Foundation.