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In the News: Daniel McDowell

Inflation and Incumbent Support: Experimental Evidence from the 2024 US Presidential Election

Selim Erdem Aytaç, Daniel McDowell, David A. Steinberg

Co-authored by Professor of Political Science Daniel McDowell, the study was published in the British Journal of Political Science.

November 10, 2025

McDowell Discusses His Research on Immigrants’ Partisan Preferences in PsyPost Article

“Immigration attitudes are not immune to strategic electoral thinking and hyper-partisanship,” says Daniel McDowell, Maxwell Advisory Board Professor of International Affairs. “For many Americans, our study shows that the desirability of immigration depends not just on cultural or economic factors, but also whether voters believe migrants have the same partisan preferences that that they do.”

October 21, 2025

McDowell Piece on the Trump Administration and Global Currency Published by Atlantic Council

"In the great global currency debate, market forces have never been more passé and political forces have never been so prominent," writes Maxwell Advisory Board Professor of International Affairs Daniel McDowell.

September 29, 2025

Do Immigrants’ Partisan Preferences Influence Americans’ Support for Immigration?

Daniel McDowell, David A. Steinberg

The article, co-authored by Professor of Political Science Daniel McDowell, was published in the Journal of Experimental Political Science.

September 9, 2025

McDowell Discusses the Mar-a-Lago Accord and the US Dollar in Deutsche Welle Interview

Part of the Mar-a-Lago Accord is essentially the goal to reduce U.S. debt service costs by forcing other countries to exchange existing U.S. bonds for 100-year, low- or no-interest bonds. “This is such an unprecedented idea. This is, in my opinion, the most kind of fantastical part of this,” says Daniel McDowell, Maxwell Advisory Board Professor of International Affairs.

April 23, 2025

McDowell Article on Trump Administration’s ‘Mar-a-Lago Accord’ Published by Atlantic Council

“The public is not enthusiastic about a depreciating currency, even if that means more exports. This implies that a core component of a Mar-a-Lago Accord—a sustained weakening of the dollar—could pose political risks for Trump,” writes Professor of Political Science Daniel McDowell and his co-author, David Steinberg.

April 7, 2025

McDowell Contributes Chapter to Gates Forum Report on Economic Statecraft

Daniel McDowell

“The Sources of American Financial Power and its Challengers,” written by Daniel McDowell, Maxwell Advisory Board Professor of International Affairs, was presented at the third annual forum, hosted by the Gates Global Policy Center in partnership with William & Mary’s Global Research Institute.

December 18, 2024

McDowell Discusses Trump’s Plans to Maintain Dollar Dominance in BBC, Bloomberg, Wash Post Articles

“The idea that you’d use political coercion to bind countries, or bind market actors within countries, to use the currency is not how the dollar ascended to this place in the first place,” says Daniel McDowell, professor of political science. “If that’s what’s needed to maintain dollar dominance, that shows there’s a real fundamental problem with the economic appeal.”

December 11, 2024

The Impact of Inflation on Support for Kamala Harris in the 2024 Presidential Election

David Steinberg, Daniel McDowell, Erdem Aytac

Professor of Political Science Daniel McDowell and his co-authors find that priming Americans to think about inflation reduces approval of the Biden-Harris administration and lowers confidence in the Democrats' ability to manage the economy. Published in SSRN.

November 19, 2024

Race, Representation, and the Legitimacy of International Organizations

David A. Steinberg, Daniel McDowell

Daniel McDowell and co-author explore whether the representation of Black people in international organization leadership positions influences perceptions of legitimacy among Black and white individuals. Published in International Organization.

November 14, 2024

McDowell Explains How US Sanctions Boost China’s Cross-Border Currency Use in The Diplomat Article

“By growing the use of the RMB in cross-border trade settlement directly between China and Russia, U.S. financial sanctions cut targeted actors off from using the dollar system, which forces targets into alternative currencies that are exchanged outside of the U.S. financial system,” says Daniel McDowell, professor of political science.

October 11, 2024

Patel and McDowell Discuss Trump’s Plan to Impose Tariffs on Countries That Start Wars in The Hill

“The cost to the private sector is quite high,” says Kristen Patel, professor of practice of policy studies. “Former President Trump has not coherently explained how tariffs would benefit us, companies and consumers.” Daniel McDowell, professor of political science, says, “The idea of using tariffs to deter countries from invading other countries, it’s pretty out there.”

September 13, 2024

McDowell Weighs In on China’s International Use of Renminbi in Financial Times Article

“I think it’s very unlikely that we’ll see China’s trade with the United States, with the European Union, moving into Chinese currency,” says Daniel McDowell, professor of political science. 

August 29, 2024

Maxwell School 2024-25 Faculty Promotions Include Four Tenure Appointments

Edwin Ackerman, Marc Garcia, Timur Hammond and Alex Rothenberg have been promoted to associate professor.

August 1, 2024

Black Representation and the Popular Legitimacy of the Federal Reserve

Daniel McDowell, David A. Steinberg

“Black representation and the popular legitimacy of the Federal Reserve,” co-authored by Professor of Political Science Daniel McDowell, was published in the European Journal of Political Economy.

July 19, 2024

Developing-Country Representation and Public Attitudes toward International Organizations

Daniel McDowell, David Steinberg, S Erdem Aytaç, Dimitar Gueorguiev
“Developing-Country Representation and Public Attitudes toward International Organizations: The Case of IMF Governance Reform,” co-authored by political scientists Daniel McDowell and Dimitar Gueorguiev, was published in International Studies Quarterly.
July 15, 2024

McDowell Discusses Sanctions Circumvention on The Sanctions Age Podcast

“De-dollarization is sort of a hedging exercise. It's preparing for that potential instance of sanctions in the future or adapting to the current sanctions that you're facing but it is real, it's happening and it does have important implications for the U.S. and for the world,” says Daniel McDowell, associate professor of political science.

May 3, 2024

McDowell Quoted in Business Insider Article on Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina

"Nabiullina has been very effective at stabilizing the Russian economy, despite the enormous economic pressure from sanctions," says Daniel McDowell, associate professor of political science.

April 11, 2024

McDowell Contributes to Inkstick Piece on the United States’ Geoeconomic Strategy

"Yes, de-dollarization is real, and it is happening. No, this does not mean that the dollar’s days are numbered," says Daniel McDowell, associate professor of political science.

December 12, 2023

McDowell Contributes to Wilson Center Report on China’s Foreign Economic Policy

In his essay, the Maxwell School political scientist contends that Chinese bank expansion abroad may weaken Washington’s ability to leverage financial sanctions.

November 29, 2023
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