Christopher Roth and his collaborators have conducted a natural field experiment with a major European party to test whether giving party supporters more voice increases their engagement in the party's electoral campaign. In the experiment, the party asked a random subset of supporters for their opinions on the importance of different policy areas. Giving supporters opportunities to voice their opinions increases their engagement in the campaign as measured using behavioral data from the party's smartphone application. The researchers evidence highlights the importance of voice for increasing political engagement.

Nathaniel Lane’s interests are at the intersection of industrial development, political economy, comparative historical development, and big data. His current research agenda is focused on establishing fundamental facts around industrial policy. This empirical work is focused on understanding the efficacy, determinants, and patterns of these controversial policies. His work has been featured in The Economist, The Financial Times, Trade Talks, among others. Together with his Industrial Policy Group, Mr. Lane’s agenda aims to make industrial strategy an object of inquiry within economics. His most recent projects 1) quantify the patterns of global policy practice using mass textual data on commercial policy, and 2) unpack the efficacy of East Asian export promotion policies.