Layna Mosley

I’m Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University, with a focus on the politics of the global economy, as well as international relations generally. I teach courses on the politics of the global economy, global political risk analysis and qualitative research methods. I direct the Princeton Sovereign Finance Lab, founded in March 2023 and part of the Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance. In April 2023, I hosted the DebtCon6 meeting at Princeton University, which seeks to bring together scholars and practicioners who study and work on sovereign debt. The seventh edition of this meeting takes place in Paris in May 2024.

My research explores the connections between domestic politics and the global economy. I'm especially interested in the political economy of sovereign borrowing and debt. I explore how governments, as borrowers, interact strategically with their creditors. These creditors include investors who purchase sovereign bonds, as well as commercial banks, other governments and international financial institutions. When governments experience debt distress, a key challenge is coordinating among these often-diverse creditors. I also consider how governments choose among creditors; how creditors evaluate government policies and political events; how governments structure the terms of their borrowing; and how governments market themselves to potential bond buyers. This research allows us to understand better the extent to which financial globalization creates opportunities, as well as constraints, for governments – and under what conditions the demands of financial markets might limit democratically-elected governments’ ability to meet the demands of their citizens.

Another stream of my research examines the effect of multinational production and global supply chains on workers’ rights in developing countries, as well as the ways in which U.S. trade policies affect workers’ rights abroad. I’m also interested in private sector efforts to govern labor rights, such as the Bangladesh Accord on Building and Fire Safety. I seek to understand the conditions under which participation in global supply chains can motivate labor-related upgrading among developing country firms, as well as the conditions under which global competition puts downward pressure on labor standards.

I currently serve as co-editor-in-chief of International Organization.  I helped found the Global Research in International Political Economy (GRIPE) webinar series, co-directing it from May 2020 to September 2022. From 2017 to 2022, I was an executive board member of the Women Also Know Stuff initiative.