Background
The SoCal Political Institutions and Political Economy (SoCal PIPE) Working Group originated in a car conversation down the Southern California coastline. Jeff Jenkins and Rod Kiewiet were driving to San Diego to attend the memorial service for Mat McCubbins. To pass the time, Jeff got Rod to talking about his history at Caltech. At some point, Rod mentioned an informal meeting of political scientists (and other scholars) in Southern California during parts the 1980s and 1990s. This group, known as the “Running Dogs,” would meet at different universities, and participants would present works in progress and receive feedback. Like a lot of informal institutions, it faded away in time.
Jeff thought this was a good idea. And he had some resources at USC to do something similar. So in July 2022, he put together a summer conference with participants from USC, UCLA, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, and Caltech. Since its inception during a long car ride traversing Southern California, a regular Working Group has formed and conferences have been held by UC San Diego, UC Irvine, Caltech, and UC Riverside. The Working Group has grown to include over 100 scholars at over ten different Southern California colleges and universities.
Goals of the Working Group
The Working Group connects scholars in Southern California across disciplines doing work in political institutions and political economy. To that end, the Working Group organizes workshops, conferences, and meetings to present works in progress and serves as a central hub for sharing relevant information among participants.