Tobias Schillings wins PSA Dissertation Prize for Comparative Politics
Congratulations to Tobias who won the award for his dissertation ‘The Political Economy of Universal Healthcare: A Global Comparative Perspective’.
The Political Studies Association (PSA) prize recognises “the best dissertation in the field of comparative politics” and is one of the leading early career prizes in political science.
Tobias completed his dissertation at ODID in December 2025 under the supervision of Professor Diego Sánchez-Ancochea and Professor David Rueda (Department of Politics and International Relations). He remains affiliated with ODID as a Research Associate.
The dissertation examines why countries expand healthcare in universal or segmented ways, and what these choices mean for inequality, redistribution, and social trust. It develops a new conceptualisation and global measurement of healthcare universalism, drawing on comparative data spanning more than 200 countries and three decades. It also investigates the political conditions under which governments pursue inclusive rather than segmented reforms.
Tobias is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Technical University of Munich.