Her research focuses on issues of comparative political economy and her book, Welfare and Party Politics in Latin America (2013, Cambridge University Press) develops and tests a theory to explain why some Latin American states have been more effective than others at reforming social policy in a universalistic direction. Jenny's new research project analyzes variation in the implementation of social welfare policies in Chile and Peru, seeking to explain why some sub-national units exhibit higher levels of administrative capacity than others. Jenny's research has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including Latin American Research Review, the American Sociological Review, Comparative Politics, and Studies in Comparative International Development. She received her Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2008.