Meredith Dost, PhD

National Poverty Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Wisconsin-Madison

PhD in Government and Social Policy, Harvard University

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mdost.phd (at) gmail.com

I am a National Poverty Fellow at the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in residence at the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

I study the political economy of administrative burden in the United States by measuring the intricacies of citizen-state interactions across a range of government policies and programs. Focusing on means-tested service provision, I study administrative governance that is shared across multiple levels of government. To do so, I create and quantitatively analyze datasets with original measures of program administration by compiling administrative, survey, and archival data. I also conduct surveys and interviews, based on the expertise I developed at Pew Research Center. My research lies at the interface of policy feedback, public administration/bureaucratic politics, and federalism, with implications for policy design and implementation.

My book project, based on my dissertation research, focuses on the political implications of the administrative burden of Medicaid. I scrutinize how interactions with the administrative state affect the political behavior and attitudes of potential recipients of means-tested government programs and other members of the mass public. I test my theory by measuring the administrative burden of Medicaid and evaluating its effect on mass-level voter turnout.

My CV is available here (link). My job market paper is available here (link) and has been accepted at Perspectives on Politics. An earlier version of this paper won the Deil S. Wright Best Paper Award from the APSA Federalism & Intergovernmental Relations Section.

About me

I earned my PhD in Government and Social Policy at Harvard University in 2023, jointly between the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and Harvard Kennedy School. During my PhD, I was a Graduate Fellow at the Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics during the 2021-22 year, a Democracy Doctoral Fellow at the HKS Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation in 2020-21, a Stone PhD Research Fellow in the Multidisciplinary Program in Inequality & Social Policy, and an affiliate of the Center for American Political Studies. At Harvard College, I served as an academic advisor for undergraduates studying political science for six years. Prior to Harvard, I worked at Pew Research Center, and I earned a B.A. in Public Policy and Hispanic Studies from the College of William & Mary.

Research

PhD dissertation at Harvard University: "Bureaucratic (In)competence in a Federalist System: How Administrative Burden Impacts Participation in U.S. Elections." I examine how policy administration of means-tested government programs shapes citizens' political lives, focusing on Medicaid.

Peer-reviewed

“Administrative Burden's Mass Political Effects: How the Administration of Medicaid and Elections Shapes Mass Voter Turnout.” Accepted at Perspectives on Politics.
"Loyalists and Switchers: Characterizing Voters' Responses to Donald Trump's Campaign and Presidency," with Ryan Enos and Jennifer Hochschild, 2020, Political Science Quarterly. Supporting Information and Replication Materials.
"The Tea Party and the 2012 Election," with Ronald Rapoport and Walter Stone, 2014, in The State of the Parties: The Changing Role of Contemporary American Parties, 7th edition (pp. 157‐174). Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield.

Official U.S. government publication

Robin Ghertner, Suzanne Macartney, and Meredith Dost. “The Fiscal Impact of Refugees and Aslyees at the Federal, State, and Local Levels from 2005-2019” (Feb 2024). HHS/ASPE. Link to report and research brief. Link to HHS press release.

Working papers

“Synthesizing Americans’ Perspectives on Forensic and Scientific Genetic Biobanks” with Jennifer Hochschild and Elizabeth Suhay. Under review.
"Administrative Burden as an Instrument of Political Participation Inequality: An Examination of Medicaid Adminstration, Political Efficacy, and Voter Turnout"
“Refugees’ Experience Prior to Resettlement and Early Socioeconomic Integration in the U.S.” with Robin Ghertner.
“How Similar Are Recently Arrived Refugees to Other Recent Immigrants in the U.S.? Comparing Demographics and Short-Term Socioeconomic Outcomes” with Robin Ghertner, Marwa AlFakhri, and Laura Bellows.

Work in progress

“Shifting Administrative Burden through Universal Free Lunch: Effects on Political Support for and Engagement with Schools”
“Spatial Inequality in Government Welfare Office Locations Across the U.S.”

Selected public writing

Meredith Dost and Robin Ghertner. “The [One Big Beautiful Bill Act] OBBBA’s Impact on Children’s [Medicaid] Coverage,” (Aug 2025). Child Welfare Wonk. Link.
Robin Ghertner and Meredith Dost. “Refugees’ Experience Prior to Resettlement Predicts Early Socioeconomic Integration in the U.S.” (Dec 2024). HHS/ASPE. Link.
Meredith Dost, Ryan Enos, and Jennifer Hochschild. “Is President Trump’s rhetoric racist? It depends on whom you ask” (Aug 2019). Monkey Cage article in The Washington Post. Link.
Meredith Dost and Kyley McGeeney. “Moving Without Changing Your Cellphone Number: A Predicament for Pollsters” (Aug 2016). Pew Research Center. Link.
Carroll Doherty and Meredith Dost. “What the Public Knows – In Pictures, Words, Maps and Graphs: Pew Research Center News IQ Quiz” (Apr 2015). Pew Research Center. Link.
Meredith Dost. “Immigration Changes Draw Broad Public Interest” (Nov 2014). Pew Research Center. Link.

Advising

I was proud to contribute to the Harvard community as a formal advisor and an informal mentor to undergraduate students. I was the primary academic advisor for about 40 political science undergraduates at a time for six years. I mentored and supported many other students in my role as a resident tutor at Harvard College from 2017-2021. In 2019, I was awarded the Star Family Prize for Excellence in Concentration Advising. I have also formally advised several undergraduate senior honors theses.

From July to October 2019, I served as the Interim Allston Burr Resident Dean of Quincy House at Harvard College. I was responsible for the academic and personal well-being of ~470 students and supervision of the House's ~20 resident tutors. In this role, I was also a member of the College's Administrative Board (the body which enforces undergraduate academic policies and social conduct standards).

Teaching

My main objective for students in teaching and advising is to learn how to think critically, with an open mind and empirical rigor. My personal goal is to promote equity and inclusion through my teaching approaches. You will find my teaching experiences below:

Courses as lead instructor

Harvard University, Government Department

GOV 99: Senior Government Thesis Tutorial (Fall 2021-Spring 2023)

Harvard Summer School, Pre-College Program

GOVT P‐16126, The Politics of U.S. Social Policy (Summer 2023); average student evaluation 4.5/5
STAT P‐16116, Understanding Basic Statistics in and Coding for Political Science (Summer 2023); average student evaluation 4.5/5

Courses as teaching fellow

Harvard University, Government Department

GOV 2001/STAT E-200 (Gary King, Spring 2019): one of two TFs for graduate‐level course in political methodology; average student evaluation 4.5/5

College of William & Mary, Sharpe Community Scholars Program

Freshman Seminar (Drew Stelljes, Fall 2012-Spring 2013): facilitated course meetings and assignments, mentored students, coordinated community service

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