University of Gothenburg
University of Gothenburg
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  4. Valeriya Mechkova

Valeriya Mechkova

Researcher

Department of Political
Science
Mail
valeriya.mechkova@gu.se
Visiting address
Sprängkullsgatan 19
41123 Göteborg
Postal address
Box 711
40530 Göteborg

Deputy Chief Analyst

Department of Political
Science
Telephone
+46 31-786 44 47
Mail
valeriya.mechkova@gu.se
Visiting address
Sprängkullsgatan 19
41123 Göteborg
Room number
B432
Postal address
Box 711
40530 Göteborg

About Valeriya Mechkova

Presentation

Researcher at the Department of Political Science, University of Gothenburg within the project "Public Services in Comparative and Historical Perspective". In January 2022, I defended my PhD dissertation titled "Understanding the Conditions and Consequences of Women's Political Representation".

In my dissertation I study how government accountability and political representation affect human development outcomes such as economic growth, infant and maternal mortality. I am particularly interested in the representation of minority groups and female's political representation.

Currently, I am working on a project studying the extent to which descriptive representation of women leads to their substantive representation using historical evidence from Sweden. In particular, I focus on how women’s presence in municipal councils in the early days of democracy (1920s-30s) shaped the development of the Swedish welfare system, in particular when it comes to implementing women’s priorities. With Johannes Lindvall, I alsto study the suffrage movement in Sweden, how it is connected to the development of female-dominated professions, and its subsequent effects on the welfare state.

I am co-PI of the Digital Society Project (DSP), which aims to answer some of the most important questions surrounding interactions between the internet and politics. Right now I am working on a project that uses Twitter data across nine countries to analyse political candidates behaviour online.

In terms of technical skills, I specialize in time-series cross-sectional data analysis.

I also work part-time with the policy and outreach program of the V-Dem Institute. I am team leader on long-term consultancy project commissioned by USAID, which re-visits the issues of democracy, governance, and human rights, through producing research papers, country and regional analyses. I have worked as consultant for the World Bank, Community of Democracies, and International IDEA.

Previously I worked as V-Dem’s analyst and data operations manager, starting from May 2013 until August 2016.

Areas of interest

Democracy and human development; Political representation; Internet and politics; TSCS analysis.

Education and training

Master’s degree in International Administration and Global Governance, University of Gothenburg, 2014.

Bachelor’s degree in International Relations, University of National and World Economy, Sofia, 2012.