Michael Chwe
Associate Professor
Northwestern University (Economics), 1992
Homepage
Office: 3276 Bunche Hall
Phone: (310) 794-5462
Fax: (310) 825-0778
E-mail:michael@chwe.net
Mailing Address:
UCLA Department of Political Science
4289 Bunche Hall
Box 951472
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1472
Curriculum Vitae
Class Websites
Field:
Methodology and Race, Ethnicity and Politics
Research Interests:
Notes:
Professor Chwe (pronounced like "chess" without the "ss") studies how people coordinate their actions when each person wants to participate only if enough others do. He finds that, while coordination sometimes occurs through evolution or adaptation, more often it is the result of explicit communication. Professor Chwe's recent papers, including "Communication and Coordination in Social Networks," "Structure and Strategy in Collective Action" and "Strategic Reliability of Communication Networks," investigate how communication networks can resolve coordination problems. His new book, Rational Ritual: Culture, Coordination, and Common Knowledge (Princeton, 2001), interprets cultural rituals as sources of common knowledge formation. Other areas of interest include jury decision making and television advertising. Professor Chwe has served on the faculty of the University of Chicago and New York University. He teaches courses on game theory for graduates and undergraduates.
Selected Publications:
