Professor Carolina Moehlecke of the Fundação Getulio Vargas´ School of International Relations (FGV RI) has received the prize for best doctoral dissertation defended in 2019 from the American Political Science Association (APSA), in the International Collaboration category. The dissertation develops and explores the argument that highly innovative companies and those in highly complex industries are more likely to support regulatory initiatives proposed by governments, both domestically and internationally, as these companies are interested in ensuring regulatory environments that allow them to exploit their competitive advantages over their rivals.

Moehlecke defended her dissertation in November 2019, at the University of Texas at Austin, United States. Her paper, which was supervised by Professor Rachel Wellhausen, demonstrates that corporate support for regulatory initiatives facilitates and accelerates the global spread of regulations. The author evaluates her hypothesis by using a mixed empirical strategy, combining statistical models with analysis of qualitative data on the adoption of regulatory policies in the areas of health and the environment.

Moehlecke is now working to turn her award-winning dissertation into a book, which will be launched soon.