Joachim Wehner is Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Public Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and a member of the Political Science and Political Economy (PSPE) research group and the Public Policy Group. He obtained a PhD in Government from the LSE in 2007, following studies at the Free University Berlin, and the Universities of Cape Town and Stellenbosch. Joachim previously worked at the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (Idasa). He has been a Consultant for a number of government bodies and other institutions, including the World Bank and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). His research interests are in the field of political economy, in particular in relation to budgeting and fiscal policy. Current work includes studies of the “competence” of economic policymakers; the politics and economics of fiscal gimmickry in Europe; and the effect of democratisation on service delivery in South Africa.