He has made notable contributions to the study of partisan polarization, the politics of economic inequality, theories of policy-making, and the statistical analysis of legislative voting.
He is currently the Susan Dod Brown Professor of Politics and Public Affairs at Princeton University, where he is also the Director of the Center for Data-Driven Social Science.
[3][4] While in high school, McCarty won first place in an essay contest sponsored by the Presidential Museum and Leadership Library, by focusing on economic policy if he was president.
[6] Prior to joining the faculty at Princeton in 2001 as a professor, he taught at USC Marshall School of Business and Columbia University.
[6][8] In 2010, he and Princeton President emeritus Harold Shapiro co-chaired a significant curricular reform for the School of Public and International Affairs Undergraduate Program.