Dr. R.D. (Ruth) Carlitz
Assistant Professor
Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences
Programme group: Political Economy and Transnational Governance
Visiting address
- Nieuwe Achtergracht 166
- Room number: 8.06
Postal address
Contact details
Social media
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Profile
I am an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Amsterdam, where I am part of the Political Economy and Transnational Governance (PETGOV) program group. My research focuses on the politics of public goods provision in low-income countries, from the perspectives of both governments and citizens. My regional expertise lies primarily in East Africa. I have conducted extensive fieldwork in Tanzania, and have also been involved in research activities in Kenya, Malawi, and South Africa.
I recently launched a 5-year project, "ClimateFiGS: Understanding the Allocation of Climate Finance in the Global South.” The project is funded by a Starting Grant from the European Research Council (ERC).
Research expertise
- African Politics
- Comparative Politics
- Environmental Politics
- Foreign Aid Effectiveness
- Public Administration
- Political Economy of Development
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Research
Research methods
- Budget Analysis
- GIS
- Mixed Methods
- Quantitative Methods
Current research projects
Using Natural Language Processing to Understand How Politics Conditions Foreign Aid Effectiveness
With Jelke Bloem I am using AI-based techniques to investigate the downstream consequences of politicization on the effectiveness of USAID projects.Budgeting for the Future: Understanding the Allocation of Climate Finance in the Global South (ClimateFiGS)
This project examines the allocation and spending of climate finance, centering the perspectives of governments and citizens in Africa.Individual Grants
- European Research Council Starting Grant, 2024-2029.
- Boren Fellowship, U.S. National Security Education Program, 2013
- Development Research Challenge, Center for the Evaluation of Global Action, UC-Berkeley, 2011.
Collaborative Grants
- UvA ENLENS (Energy Transition Through the Lens of SDGs) cross-faculty grant.
- Swedish Expert Group for Aid Studies, 2023-2024.
- EGAP Climate Change Governance Case Study Grant, 2023.
- UvA Social & Behavioural Data Science Centre Valorization Grant, 2023.
- Research Project Grant, Swedish Research Council, 2019-2023.
RPA
- ENLENS
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Teaching
- African Politics (MA elective)
- Political Economy of International Development (MARP)
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Publications
2024
- Boräng, F., & Carlitz, R. (2024). The Double Democratic Bind: Challenges to Enacting Mandates and Combating Misinformation. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, 49(1), 189-215. https://doi.org/10.1215/03616878-10910233 [details]
- Carlitz, R. D., Bauhr, M., & Kovacikova, L. (2024). Beyond Buildings: Social Bargaining and Effective Access to Public Services. Public Organization Review, 24, 389-406. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11115-023-00741-1
- Wang, S., Eggers, G., de Roode Torres Georgiadis, A., Đo, T., Gontard, L., Carlitz, R., & Bloem, J. (in press). Towards quantifying politicization in foreign aid project reports. In Proceedings of the Second Workshop on Natural Language Processing for Political Sciences
2023
- Carlitz, R. D., & Ziaja, S. (2023). Harmony or Cacophony? A Disaggregated Analysis of Aid Fragmentation. Studies in Comparative International Development, 59(1), 176–198. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12116-023-09386-z
Yamanis, T., Carlitz, R., Gonyea, O., Skaff, S., Kisanga, N., & Mollel, H. (2023). Confronting 'chaos': a qualitative study assessing public health officials' perceptions of the factors affecting Tanzania's COVID-19 vaccine rollout. BMJ Open, 13(1), Article e065081. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-065081 [details]
2021
- Bauhr, M., & Carlitz, R. (2021). When does transparency improve public services? Street-level discretion, information, and targeting. Public Administration, 99(3), 500-516. https://doi.org/10.1111/padm.12693
- Carlitz, R. D., & Lust, E. (2021). Governance Beyond the State: Social Institutions and Service Delivery. In A. Bågenholm, M. Bauhr, M. Grimes, & B. Rothstein (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Quality of Government Oxford Handbooks.
- Carlitz, R. D., & Makhura, M. N. (2021). Life under lockdown: Illustrating tradeoffs in South Africa's response to COVID-19. World Development, 137, Article 105168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105168
- Carlitz, R. D., & McLellan, R. (2021). Open data from authoritarian regimes: New opportunities, new challenges. Perspectives on Politics, 19(1), 160-170. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1537592720001346
- Carlitz, R. D., & Povitkina, M. (2021). Local interest group activity and environmental degradation in authoritarian regimes. World Development, 142, Article 105425. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2021.105425
- Carlitz, R., Yamanis, T., & Mollel, H. (2021). Coping with denialism: How street-level bureaucrats adapted and responded to COVID-19 in Tanzania. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, 46(6), 989-1017. https://doi.org/10.1215/03616878-9349128
- Mechkova, V., & Carlitz, R. (2021). Gendered accountability: When and why do women's policy priorities get implemented? European Political Science Review, 13(1), 3-21. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1755773920000272
- Yamanis, T., Carlitz, R. D., & Mollel, H. (2021). Adapting COVID-19 containment in Africa: Lessons from Tanzania. In S. L. Greer, E. J. King, E. Massard da Fonseca, & A. Peralta-Santos (Eds.), Coronavirus Politics: The Comparative Politics and Policy of COVID-19 University of Michigan Press. https://www.press.umich.edu/11927713/coronavirus_politics/?s=look_inside
2019
- Carlitz, R. D. (2019). A Vicious Cycle? Understanding Constraints on the Expression of Demand for Improved Service Delivery. Annals of Comparative Democatization, 17(3), 21-24. https://connect.apsanet.org/s35/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2019/09/APSA-September2019-3-1.pdf
- Carlitz, R. D. (2019). Who gets what – and how efficiently? Assessing the spatial allocation of public goods. Research and Politics, 6(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/2053168019879355
2017
- Carlitz, R. D. (2017). Money Flows, Water Trickles: Understanding Patterns of Decentralized Water Provision in Tanzania. World Development, 93, 16-30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2016.11.019
- Carlitz, R. D., Harris, A., Kao, K., Landry, P., Lust, E., & Rakner, L. (2017). Beyond the State: Measuring Governance at the Community Level. APSA Comparative Democratization, 16(1), 26-29. https://connect.apsanet.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2017/10/2017_15_2_APSA_CD_NL.pdf
2013
- Carlitz, R. (2013). Improving transparency and accountability in the budget process: An assessment of recent initiatives. Development Policy Review, 31(S1), 49-67. https://doi.org/10.1111/dpr.12019
- Seifert, J., Carlitz, R., & Mondo, E. (2013). The Open Budget Index (OBI) as a Comparative Statistical Tool. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice, 15(1), 87-101. https://doi.org/10.1080/13876988.2012.748586
2009
- Carlitz, R. D., de Renzio, P., Krafchik, W., & Ramkumar, V. (2009). Budget transparency around the World: Results from the 2008 open budget survey. OECD Journal on Budgeting, 9(2), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1787/budget-v9-art19-en
2023
- Carlitz, R. (2023). [Review of: D.J. Smith (2022) Every Household Its Own Government: Improvised Infrastructure, Entrepreneurial Citizens, and the State in Nigeria]. H-Net Reviews. http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=58249 [details]
2022
- Carlitz, R. D. (2022). Comparing Military and Human Security Spending: Key Findings and Methodological Notes. UN Women. https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2022-08/Comparing-military-and-human-security-spending-en.pdf
2020
- Cookson, T., Carlitz, R. D., Fuentes, L., & Berryhill, A. (2020). A gender data snapshot of life during COVID-19: Survey on Gender Equality at Home Report. Facebook.
2017
- Carlitz, R. D. (2017). Identifying and overcoming binding constraints to rural water services for the B40 in Tanzania: WASH Poverty Diagnostic Report.
- Carlitz, R. D., & Boex, J. (2017). Decentralization and the delivery of water and sanitation services in Tanzania.
2013
- Carlitz, R. D., & McGee, R. (2013). Raising The Stakes: The Impact of HakiElimu’s Advocacy Work on Education Policy and Budget in Tanzania. International Budget Partnership (IBP).
- Carlitz, R. D., & McGee, R. (2013). `The Users' in Technology-for-Transparency-and-Accountability Initiatives: Assumptions and Realities. http://www.ruthcarlitz.com/pdf/IDS-UserLearningStudyonT4T&AIs.pdf
2022
- Carlitz, R., Morjaria, A., & Mueller, J. M. (2022). State-Building in a Diverse Society. (NBER Working paper series; No. 30731). National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w30731 [details]
2021
- Carlitz, R. D. (2021). Assessing the Costs and Benefits of COVID-19 Containment Strategies in Africa. (V-Dem Users’ Working Papers). V-Dem Institute. https://www.v-dem.net/media/publications/uwp_40.pdf
- Cookson, T., Carlitz, R. D., Fuentes, L., & Berryhill, A. (2021). Who cares during crisis? New global gender data on time poverty during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ladysmith Collective.
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Ancillary activities
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UN Women
Consultant, Studies on Finance for Sustaining Peace
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UN Women
Yamanis, T., Carlitz, R., Gonyea, O., Skaff, S., Kisanga, N., & Mollel, H. (2023). Confronting 'chaos': a qualitative study assessing public health officials' perceptions of the factors affecting Tanzania's COVID-19 vaccine rollout. BMJ Open, 13(1), Article e065081.