I joined the Data for Political Research (DPR) Department in 2022 after earning my Ph.D. from the Department of Political Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I love being a part of DPR where I have the chance to empower students to ask big questions about their political world using data. My research centers on the ways wealthy countries use international aid as a foreign policy tool. I use a variety of quantitative methods in my research such as mathematical modeling, statistical analysis, and machine learning. I also am a Fellow with the U.S. Office of Evaluation Sciences where I serve as a statistical methods specialist on a cross-disciplinary team of social and behavioral scientists who help the U.S. Federal Government build and use evidence to better serve the American people. Many of the skills I use in my research and in working with the Federal Government I have the chance to teach my students. My hope is the skills they learn with DPR equip them not only to do cutting edge research, but also to have a tangible impact on society.
I’m originally from a small town in downstate Illinois and earned my B.A. from a small liberal arts school called Greenville University near St. Louis. I went on to earn my M.A. from Eastern Illinois University and then my Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. When not working, you can find me pumping iron at the gym, riffing out on my guitar, or binge watching a period drama with my wife.
Learning & Teaching
- DPR 101: Data Visualization for Political Research
- DPR 190: War, Wealth, and World Politics
- DPR 201: Design and Data Analysis for Social Impact
- DA 101: Introduction to Data Analytics
Works
In Progress (see my website for current and ongoing research)
- “Elusive Collusion: Collective Action in Foreign Aid.” (Working Paper).
- “Foreign Aid, Migration, and Civil War.” (Under Review).
- “Aid for Alliances? Buying and Selling Alliance Commitments in the Political Economy of Aid” (Under Review).
- “Who Gets More Money, Attention and Handshakes?” With Lucie Lu (Under Review).
- “Expropriation and Foreign Aid.” With Seung-Uk Huh (Working Paper).
- “Leveraging the Black Box: Regression Adjustment via Random Forests.” (Under Review)
2023
- Williams, Miles D. and Matthew S. Winters. Expected 2023. “World Bank.” In Handbook of International Organizations: Theories, Concepts, and Empirical Insights. Eds. Katja Freistein, Julia Leininger, and Silke Weinlich. De Gruyter Oldenbourg.
2019
- Burge, Ryan P. and Miles D. Williams. 2019. “Is Social Media a Digital Pulpit? How Evangelical Leaders Use Twitter to Encourage the Faithful and Publicize Their Work.” Journal of Religion, Media, and Digital Culture 8(1): 63-82.
- Burge, Ryan P. and Miles D. Williams. 2019. “Gender in the Pulpit: The Differences in Speaking Style for Men and Women.” Journal of Communication and Religion 42(1). 63-82.
2018
- Ashley, Jeffrey and Miles D. Williams. 2018. “Illinois 10th Congressional District: Re-rematch in Chicago Suburbs.” In The Roads to Congress 2016. Eds. Sean D. Foreman and Marcia L. Godwin. Springer International Publishing. Link.