Dai Oba

I am a political theorist specialised in normative political theory with main interest in the intersection of justice, political economy, and public policy. 

My work concerns theories of equality, policies of social welfare and regulation of the market, and the role of normative theory in policy guidance in the real world. In 2024, I  successfully defended DPhil dissertation about policies of ‘predistribution’ and a new methodology of Ethics and Public Policy. I extend this in my current book project, Predistribution: How to Pursue Justice in the Face of Neo-Liberalism, which is under review at Oxford University Press.

I am also interested in: ideas of reciprocity, Rawlsian account of pure procedural justice, and ecological impacts of welfare states.

I hold a DPhil in Politics from the University of Oxford. I also hold a MA in political science at Waseda University, where I am a JSPS Postdoctoral Research Fellow.