PHD CANDIDATE

Chen is a PhD student MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning. He is interested in climate change and land governance. In the Political Economy Lab, Chen works on the climate crisis project.

MCP, MST, 2022

Ehab Ebeid comes from a small town in Giza, Egypt and was a student in the Master in City Planning program at MIT (graduated 2022). He holds a BS in Urban Studies and a BA in History from Cornell University, and is broadly interested in issues of urban mobility. In the Political Economy Lab, Ehab is continuing to work on ride-hailing and the digital (gig) economy, particularly in South Africa.

VISITING ASSISTANT PROFESSOR

Jake is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Law and Ribstein Fellow at the University of Illinois College of Law. In the Political Economy Lab, Jake explores rideshare drivers' perceptions of and potential alternatives to the employee/independent contractor classification of ridehailing drivers. His research interests include economic and behavioral analysis of law, tort law issues in transportation, and the role of property law in economic development.

MCP 2024

Emma Heneine graduated in 2024 with a Master’s in City Planning from the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT. In the political economy lab, Emma primarily works on our project on the political economy of public health and global health markets. Emma is interested in the intersections between urban planning, global health, environmental sustainability, international development, and urban design.

UNDERGRADUATE, UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG

Xinyi Huang is a junior at the University of Hong Kong majoring in Economics with a minor in Urban Studies. She is interested in sustainable mobility and equitable infrastructure through the lens of political economy. In the Political Economy Lab, she works on the ride-hailing and digital economy project in Hong Kong.

DIRECTOR OF POLITICAL ECONOMY LAB

Jason Jackson is Associate Professor of Political Economy in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT. He is the Director of the Political Economy Lab.

LECTURER IN BUSINESS AND SOCIETY

Ayan is a Lecturer in the Department of Business and Society at Queen Mary University of London. His research examines the political economy of development, and the social and environmental transformations brought about by international capital mobility. In the Political Economy Lab, Ayan is primarily working on projects on economic nationalism and the work of the future. He is a 2022/23 Chateaubriand Fellow in residence with the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD) in Paris, France.

PHD CANDIDATE

Chenab is a PhD student in Urban Planning at DUSP. She studies the political economy of housing, with a focus on contestation between local organizers and residents, and shifts in global capital flows. In the Political Economy Lab, Chenab primarily works on projects on the rise of platforms in housing/real estate markets.

PHD CANDIDATE

Mrinalini is a PhD student in DUSP where she specializes in climate change, urban poverty, and rural-to-urban migration with a cross-cutting focus on gender, access to public services, and questions of justice and equity. in the Political Economy Lab, Mrinalini works on the Climate Crisis project.

UNDERGRADUATE, WELLESLEY COLLEGE

Maimoonah Shafqat is a senior at Wellesley College majoring in Economics with a minor in Environmental Studies. Maimoonah is interested in environmental economics and the economics of development, particularly in South Asia. In the Political Economy Lab, she assists Professor Jackson with archival research for his forthcoming book projects, primarily on economic nationalism and the digital economy.

PHD CANDIDATE

JS Tan is a PhD student in the International Development Group at DUSP. JS is interested in international development and the political economy of innovation, growth, and work. In the Political Economy Lab, JS is primarily working on projects on industrial policy.

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF LAW

Dr. Dan Traficonte is an Associate Professor of Law at Syracuse University College of Law & a faculty affiliate of SU’s Autonomous Systems Policy Institute, & completed his Ph.D. in Political Economy at MIT. His teaching & research is on law, political economy, innovation, and economic development — focusing on patents & the role of federal R&D programs & university research in shaping science & technology. Dan is primarily working on projects on industrial policy.

MCP 2026

Richa is a Master’s in City Planning (’26) candidate at the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT. Her research is centered around driving socially equitable development in a rapidly urbanizing, industrializing, and warming world, particularly in Global Southern contexts. At the Political Economy Lab, Richa contributes to projects focusing on the political economy of liberalization in India and the ride sharing sector.